The Dark Wizard Affair
by Drew Michaels
Summary: As WW II looms, Gellert Grindewald searches for the Deathly Hallows to further his dreams of conquering the wizarding world. He has put a plot into motion to draw America's wizards into the war...on his side. In his way is James McCrea, son of the British Magical Ambassador and transfer student to Ilvermorny. Can James foil Grindewald's plot?
1. Chapter 1

Characters and locations in the world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

My first foray into the world of JKR; I hope you like it.

 **Prologue**

The wizard looked at the Muggle Chancellor of Germany, his expression unreadable but his general posture that of a powerful man. He had found this Muggle to actually have quite a similar world view, each man having the wish to rid the world of undesirables. This so called leader had been eager to take on the wizard as an advisor, having a great attraction to what the Muggle world would call the supernatural. He did not even need to reveal that he was a true wizard, merely that he was an expert in that supernatural piffle. This Muggle was easy to manipulate to the point of not needing the _Imperious_ curse to get him to do things. The wizard only needed the right suggestion to put in front of the Chancellor and off the Muggle would go. Lending troops and war materials to Spain? It was easy to convince the man it would be a good test of his new forces. Invade Czechoslovakia? Well, Germany certainly needed the land and raw materials to feed the growing needs of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. And through it all, the wizard was able to get what he needed. It started at first with information, but had recently succeeded in gaining the first of the three objects he needed for his own plans.

The Elder Wand.

Also known as the Death Stick and various other vicious names throughout the ages, it was the first of the Deathly Hallows he had found. He had information that the remaining two Hallows were in England; all he had to do was get the Muggle to conquer the British Islands and he, the greatest dark wizard to walk the earth, would have free rein to search at his leisure. He was sure the Resurrection Stone was in the hands of the descendants of Cadmus Peverell, the most likely being the Gaunt family. There was even a chance that wizarding family might willingly join him in his quest. The hardest of the three to find would be the Invisibility Cloak. It had definitely descended from Ignotus Peverell, but the trail had grown cold in the fourteenth century. It had to have passed to a daughter at that point in the past and muddied the ancestry. It would not be impossible to find, only extremely difficult. There was also the rumor the cloak had managed to turn up in Poland. Germany would invade the Poles in order for the wizard's own men to look for clues but that would be more to confirm the absence of the cloak on the mainland. And if his political calculations were correct, Germany's invasion of Poland would cause the other great powers of Europe to declare war in order to aid Poland. Except this time Germany was prepared to sweep the allied forces off the map, with the new tactics of Blitzkrieg the wizard had coached the Chancellor into adopting. The seers and auguries pointed to Germany having control of the whole continent before the end of the following year, leaving only the British Isles left to stand. The German invasion of England would be greatly helped by the British wizarding community being forced to stand alone in the event of another Muggle World War, especially if the United States wizarding community could be made to ally with Germany. It was an allegiance he believed he could trick the blasted Americans into making.

Gellert smiled. His plans would bear much fruit.

 **Chapter One – The Headmaster's Office**

James McCrea loosened his tie as he walked to the Great Hall for lunch after a particularly difficult Transfiguration OWL practical exam, more difficult than he would have expected from such a young professor as Albus Dumbledore, not remembering that the Ministry of Magic was in control of all OWL testing. It was James's last test of the year though and he was sure he received at least an E, although an Outstanding was probably out of the question. All in all, he thought he would get at least six OWLs total, and would gladly take the O's he knew he would receive in Potions and Charms. James was still on track to be a Mediwizard after his NEWTs in two years, which was what he really and truly cared about. And the last few days of term before the Leaving Feast would provide ample time to unwind. Unfortunately, lunch would not be coming soon, as a second year Hufflepuff ran up to him in the Entrance Hall.

"James McCrea," the young student said in an out of breath voice, "Headmaster Dippet wants to see you in his office immediately. He said it was urgent."

"Thanks," said James quietly, as he changed direction and headed to see what Professor Dippet wanted. He was not one of the pranksters, in fact James was an exemplary student when it came to those type of extracurricular activities, almost never having any house points taken away and never getting a detention in almost five years at Hogwarts, so he was very curious why he was requested to proceed toward Dippet's sanctuary.

McCrea became a bit more nervous when he saw his Head of House, Professor Slughorn, waiting at the gargoyle statue marking the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"Ah, James my boy! I was asked to escort you to the Headmaster. Must be of some importance if he wants both of us there, eh?"

James could only smile at the jovial potions master. "Must be indeed," he replied, "although I'm sure I don't have any clue as to what it could be."

Waving his wand, Slughorn activated the staircase behind the statue and led the way up to Dippet's office, an expectant energy making him bounce with delight. Whatever it was, James was sure it had to be good news if the head of Slytherin house was in such a good mood. He began to relax as he followed Slughorn up the stairs.

He heard the potions master announce the two of them as they strode through the office door, James still lost in thought about what the summons could be about. He didn't notice another guest already in the room with Professor Dippet. It was quite a shock when that person spoke and James did a double take to see if the owner of that voice really was here.

"Headmaster Dippet has been telling me you've been doing wonderfully on all your OWLs son," said William McCrea.

"Da? What are you doing here? Nothing's wrong with Mother, is there?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," Mr. McCrea reassured his son. "I've received some extraordinary news from the Ministry of Magic today. News that will affect you and your studies I'm afraid."

"What sort of news?"

"The Minister himself requested me to become the new Ambassador to the Magical Congress of the United States of America, although I believe they prefer calling it by its acronym, MACUSA."

"That's fantastic news Da!" exclaimed James, "but what does that have to do with me and Hogwarts?"

"This initial posting is for two years, right in New York City," the elder McCrea explained, "so you have a choice of finishing your last two years here at Hogwarts or completing your education at Ilvermorny."

Headmaster Dippet stepped in to the conversation. "Ilvermorny is the American school for witchcraft and wizardry, equal to Hogwarts in every measure, including prestige within the wizarding community. But it does have one distinct advantage over Hogwarts that I believe you will appreciate young Mr. McCrea. They have an outstanding NEWT level program for Mediwizards if I am not mistaken." Noticing the confused look on James face, Dippet continued, "That is still your ultimate goal, is it not James? To be, and I quote, 'The best Mediwizard to ever set foot in St Mungos'."

How could he forget? It was his one defining goal since he first set foot on the Hogwarts Express five years ago and that driving ambition was the biggest reason the Sorting Hat had put him in Slytherin in the first place, one of the few there who was not a so-called "pureblood". It was an ambition that glowed brighter than his intelligence and almost caused the darn Sorting Hat to chuckle, although only James would have heard that laugh.

"That is indeed still my goal Professor, and this American school sounds quite intriguing. As much as I would miss Hogwarts and my mates here in Britain, I canna' turn down such a grand opportunity!"

That one simple decision seemed to create a whole host of new questions. James was not one for self-doubt, or at least not for more than a few seconds of it, before setting upon any course of action. But it did seem like there would be a whole logistical nightmare involved with moving to a new country and an equally new school.

"So when would we need to leave England, Da?"

"I won't need to report to the posting until sometime in mid-summer. We will be getting a decent amount of time to pack necessities and personal items before traveling, though the Ministry will be handling the shipping of any bulky items directly."

"What did Mother say about this?"

"You mean besides 'It's about time, William!'?" his father said with a hearty chuckle. "You know your mother has been prodding me to get a more important diplomatic posting since before you started here at Hogwarts."

"Sounds like things are settled then, my boy," Slughorn exclaimed. "I'd be curious myself to see what different potion ingredients are available over there. I've always read that it was difficult for the first European wizards who went there to explore the New World until they were able to connect with the local wizarding communities and get all that sorted out. Well, please keep in touch and don't hesitate to send me an owl occasionally. You've certainly been one of the best potions students I've had so far, though that might not be saying much having only taught for not quite a decade now."

"I will indeed write Professor, especially if I run across any new ingredients over there. I might be able to send you a small sample."

"Splendid!" Slughorn gushed, "Now I'll certainly be awaiting that first owl from you!"

"Is there going to be any paperwork to sign to transfer James to this Ilvermorny, Professor Dippet?" the senior McCrea asked.

"Not at this time, William. I will be sure to send you a copy of anything that will need a signature but most of the transfer will involve sending copies of James's academic records to my counterpart in America. I would say this meeting is at an end gentlemen and I would especially like to congratulate you James, and your father, on this exciting opportunity!" The Headmaster rose from behind his desk and shook hands with both James and William, followed by a vigorous handshake from Professor Slughorn as well. His father then stepped to the fireplace to Floo back to the Ministry offices in London in order to finish the particulars of setting up his new British Magical Embassy posting in the States. This left James to jog to the Great Hall before lunch was over, eager to tell his housemates the news.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** This will predominantly be my original characters in this story. Any of Jo Rowling's characters have only been included to help anchor the story within her book canon, especially the era I've set the story in.


	2. Chapter 2

Characters and locations in the world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

 **Chapter2 – A Summer of Feasts**

James had a bit of trepidation as he walked up from the dungeons and towards the Great Hall for the Leaving Feast; this may be the very last time he'd be seeing Hogwarts and his friends and classmates. But there was also an excitement taking hold of him as the idea of new adventures in America was certainly appealing. It was taking a greater importance in his head tonight to the point he almost didn't care about the Quidditch Cup or the House cup. Almost. Tonight was the last night to bask in the end of year glory for his beloved Snakes, even he himself had little to do with the actual accrual of points over the course of the past year. Filing in and sitting with the rest of the Slytherin fifth years, the Hall came to order shortly when Headmaster Dippet stood at the traditional podium just in front of the faculty table, his arms outstretched to gain everyone's attention

"Another year has passed and another wonderful crop of seventh years are ready to leave the nest and spread their wings out in the real world," he said, "eager to show the world what they are made of. I am sad to say that we have one fifth year who will no longer be with us after tonight as well."

The crowds at the other house tables wildly looked around, trying to figure out which student that statement applied to. A good portion of the Slytherin table of course showed no such surprise; they had been informed over the course of the past few days so they knew exactly who Professor Dippet was talking about. Not that it made James any less nervous after the announcement.

"Mr. James McCrea will be transferring to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States, owing to the posting of his father as the British Ambassador to the American wizarding community. This is an amazing opportunity for both McCreas and I wish you all to join me in a congratulatory toast." Professor Dippet paused and stood. "To James and William McCrea."

It was an amazing sight to see every student and every person raise their glass of pumpkin juice, or other libation in the case of faculty members, just for him. It was followed by a short round of applause and handshakes from friends and housemates who had not yet heard the news. Talk flowed freely as everyone began to eat in earnest, the school house elves outdoing themselves again it seemed. The rest of the feast passed in a blur and although Hufflepuff had captured the house cup this year Slytherin house hoisted the Quidditch cup for the second straight year. Sooner than it felt, the feast was over and the students filed up to their dormitories for the last time this school year. After a fitful night of sleep, colored by excitement and melancholy, James dressed and headed down to the train station in Hogsmeade, keeping pace with the flow of students and wistfully fixing every inch of the castle to memory.

* * *

The trip back to London was unexpectedly uneventful and James was strolling through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾ at the signal of the attendant. No sense in frightening the Muggles on the other side of the wall. He was almost out to the curb when he caught site of his father waving near his official Ministry car.

"I should have expected this when I accepted the posting, but we will be having a busy summer."

"So I shouldn't bother unpacking my school trunk?"

"Maybe not that bad, but your Grandmother is insisting on having a family celebration before we leave for New York. She said a small one."

"So Gran is going to invite everyone out to the third or fourth cousins then?" James asked with an amused tone.

"She does have a different concept of small," his father said with a wry look and a deadpan tone. James let out a hearty laugh as they got into the car.

The big get together was three weeks after the end of term, apparently due to logistics. Hundreds of relatives were expected to be at his Grandmother's estate in Cornwall and that kind of party took a lot of planning. At least it wasn't going to be a black tie and dress robe affair, although Muggle casual clothing would be frowned upon.

The three weeks passed quickly, as James really didn't have much to pack besides his school trunk. The occasional owl to a housemate from Hogwarts and a couple of trips to Diagon Alley for some potions ingredients for his school supplies killed a few days here and there but the rest of the time was spent dealing with the flurry of activity the family had to endure preparing for the move to New York. Most things would be shipped prior to James and his parents setting out but there would always be a few last minute items to bring. Luckily all the furniture would be staying, as the embassy residences were already furnished.

Looking in the mirror, James straightened his tie, brushed a small piece of lint off his shoulder and donned his blue sport coat. He wouldn't have looked out of place at a Muggle country club in the states, with khakis and loafers completing his outfit. James let out a small chuckle; his Gran's estate was probably the equivalent of a country club. Joining his parents at the fireplace, they Flooed to the library at the estate and were met by the under butler.

"Welcome Ambassador," the man said, "your mother is waiting outside in the gardens."

"Thank you Geoffrey; it's good to be back. Are we the last ones to arrive?" William answered.

"I believe so sir. You are the guests of honor, so Madame had certainly made sure you would be fashionably late when the invitations were sent out."

"The definitely sounds like something Gran would do," James said with a laugh. He loved his grandmother fiercely, especially as she was his inspiration in his quest to become a great mediwizard.

When they reached the garden, it looked like one hundred and fifty people were there, a good third of those servants and staff of the household and any caterers that had been hired for the event. The house elves would be staying in the manor house, as some of the relatives were Muggles, another sign clan McCrea was not part of the Sacred Twenty-eight. Dozens of large round tables were strewn throughout the space in an almost haphazard way and guests were sitting down with drinks or mingling and catching up with the rest of the family. Although an only child, James had dozens of first and second cousins so he was never lonely growing up. A handful had been at Hogwarts with him, but all of them were in other houses, a good fair few in Ravenclaw.

"Aha! There is my favorite son!"

James turned quickly towards the voice to see his grandmother hurrying their way, a giant smile on her face and her arms opening wide for a hug.

"I'm not sure I would have been your favorite if I hadn't been the youngest," William said with a bemused tone.

"Likely true," said Gran, "you were a wee bit of a scamp before you had gotten your Hogwarts letter. Oh the mischief you'd get into."

"And the older ones never let me forget it. I still remember Robert and Annabelle complaining that they had gotten grounded for pranks that I had only gotten a shrug and a head shake from you, Mater dear."

"And I'm quite sure I never caught you on half the shenanigans you had gotten up to!" the matriarch said, a merry twinkle in her sharp grey eyes.

Preoccupied with his Dad and Gran, James jumped with a start when an unknown hand grabbed his shoulder from behind, "How's my favorite snake?" whispered in his ear. He smiled as he recognized the voice. "About as well as my favorite kitty," he replied.

Turning around, James stared into the eyes of his recently graduated cousin Ellen, who had been in Gryffindor. "Good summer so far Ellie? You were supposed to have had a couple of interviews with the Ministry, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I've had interviews with Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and Department of Mysteries, and I've got one next week with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"I didn't think you had the NEWTs to be an Auror, Ellie."

"Oh god no. I wouldn't be an Auror if I got hired in there. I'd probably be at a desk in the Underage Magic unit to start. There's also Accidental Magic Reversal."

"That would be fun, especially with all the stuff the real young ones wind up doing until they're old enough to understand." James's dad added in.

"It would indeed Uncle William."

"I hate to interrupt," Gran said, "but we'll be starting to serve lunch momentarily. We'll all have plenty more time to chat during dessert."

James enjoyed the scrumptious feast and put up with Gran making him and Da the center of attention. He could see his father deserving the spotlight, he was Ambassador after all, but James himself hadn't done anything of note yet. Embarrassment aside, he made every effort to see all the family members he was close to and took one last look around the grounds, not sure of when the next time he would return would be. James was exhausted when the party drew to a close early in the evening but a sense of peace washed over him. He would always be glad of having a large, loving family.

* * *

The next week was as much of a blur as the time proceeding Gran's party, but the day had finally come. It was time to transport themselves to the embassy in New York. The luggage had been transported yesterday by Ministry staffers; now it was time for the family to travel and they would carry any small personal belongings they did not wish to be shipped. James took a last look around his parent's house, and prepared to step through the Floo. _When did I stop considering this my home?_ James thought. Probably when it finally sunk in that he would be graduated and out on his own starting his mediwizard residency the next time he'd be back in England. He shook his head and followed his parents through the now green flames, stepping out into a study not unlike the one at his Gran's estate.

"Welcome Mr and Mrs Ambassador," said a woman that appeared to be an Auror. A man with a notebook was behind her. "My name is Amanda Griffin and I am head of the Ministry security detail here. May I introduce Bert Lowell; he is chief of staff for the embassy."

Mr McCrea acknowledged each person in turn and shook their hands. Lowell then motioned for the group to follow him upstairs to the residential portion of the building. Apparently the lower floors were offices and meeting rooms. James heard that there was also a grand ballroom on the ground level and they would be seeing it in detail in a few hours. It was already afternoon in New York and tonight would be the official and very formal welcoming feast for the Ambassador, clearly more of the busy summer his Da had warned him about back at King's Cross station.

James spent the next few hours relaxing in his room at the embassy. It was only his for the last weeks of summer break and then he would be off to Ilvermorny for his sixth year, so there was no incentive to put out personal items or keepsakes. Before long he began searching for his dress robes to start preparing for that night's banquet. Checking the closet on a whim, he saw it hanging neatly, already cleaned and pressed. This left him impressed with the embassy staff, who clearly knew what they were about. Nodding his head in a pleased manner, James went into the bathroom to shower and shave, looking forward to soaking under the hot water.

James was combing his hair and giving his bow tie a last check, when he heard a soft knock at the door to his quarters. Peeking out of the bathroom, he saw his mother peeking in.

"Ah, James, there you are. Just checking to see how you're doing," said Olivia McCrea as she finished entering the room. A stunning burgundy gown flowed down from her shoulders.

"If I pass inspection, I think I'm ready."

Doing a slow twirl in front of his mother, James was sure she'd find him up to snuff. Putting a hand on his shoulder when she closed the gap between them, she took the time to stare closely at his face, drinking in the sight.

"My lord, my bairn is a grown man now."

"You're embarrassing me mum."

"'Tis a mother's prerogative, you know. Twill be until one of us is in the grave too!" A mischievous twinkle was in her eyes. "And especially when you finally bring a lass around to meet your Da and I."

A new voice spoke. "Who is James going to be bringing around?"

James blushed a little before responding. "Mum has some wishful thinking about me having a girlfriend Da. It's not like the girls at Hogwarts aren't lookers, but I don't think I'll have time for dating until I've finished my mediwizard residency. And twenty-two seems the perfect age to finally catch the perfect lass." He regained some of his composure and matched his mother's look of mischief with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oi! Who are you and what did you do with James? Only fifteen..."

"Nearly sixteen, Da!" James interrupted.

"...fine, nearly sixteen, and already thinking and acting like a grown-up. God, that makes your mother and I proud!"

"I dinna ken where the years have gone William. He'll be out on his own before you can blink."

"If you two are done gushing, don't we have a ball to attend?" James asked with a bit of amusement.

"Ah, that's the whole point of me barging into your room," William said. "It's time to go down and prepare for the receiving line."

"And spend two hours getting shown off like a prize mare and shaking hundreds of random hands," Olivia said in an mildly annoyed tone.

"But then we'll get to have an amazing feast," William said, taking a few last moments of family time before assuming the mantle of Ambassador. "They say the house elves will be pulling out all the stops for this banquet."

* * *

The first hour of the receiving line passed relatively quickly, with most of the guests greeted to this point being minor functionaries of the various wizarding governments. Although there was no gap in the line, now was when the interesting guests would start arriving. The first of those guests happened to be British business wizards, announced by an embassy staffer.

"Mr. Henry Potter. Mr and Mrs Fleamont Potter."

"Welcome, one and all," said the Ambassador.

"Good to see you again, William," said the elder Potter, "you remember my son and his wife Euphrenia, correct?"

"I do indeed. And you remember my wife Olivia and my son James?"

The trios shook hands amongst themselves for a few moments.

"So," started the Ambassador, "what brings the lot of you to New York?"

"Trade talks, what else. Time to renegotiate the tariffs on all my medical potions."

"Ah, that's right. Potters have been making Skele-gro and such for centuries!" James cut in.

"Yes. Bright lad you've got there William."

"Going to be studying to be a mediwizard when he's done with school, that one is," said Olivia.

"And you two just along for a vacation?" the Ambassador asked the younger Potter and his bride.

"Actually, father thought it would be a good idea to start getting a handle on the business, since he'll be retiring in a few more years. That and investigating new product lines."

"What kind of new products?" James asked.

"Well, father's not sold on it yet, but I think we should try and develop some personal grooming products, since we've got the medical potions market pretty well cornered. Start with a hair care potion I think, something to tame even the Potter family hair." Fleamont pointed at his own slightly messy mop. "Been toying with the idea of calling it 'Sleak-easy' or something like that. But first it has to tame this haystack." He again pointed at his own hair.

"They might not know a damn thing about potions but those Muggles certainly have a great grasp on Economics and business," said Henry Potter. "Wasn't a bad idea to get Fleamont to take some Muggle university after he finished up at Hogwarts."

"Certainly sounds interesting, Mr Potter," James said.

"Call me Harry, lad. Mr Potter is my father and I'd be looking for my Grandfather if you tried calling me.'Henry'."

"Well it has been an honor to meet all of you. I hope we'll have a chance to talk some more later."

The line kept snaking past where James and his parents had been positioned by the embassy protocol officer. Many different ambassadors from a large number of European countries were being introduced now, as well as a good number from South America. Some, like those from the Nordic countries, did little besides shake hands, requiring an interpreter for even the simplest interaction. Others were able to converse directly in a language father knew, like French or Spanish. Still others were able to converse in English, albeit with an accent.

"Lord Krum and son, magical Ambassador from Bulgaria." brayed the staffer.

"Good to see you again, Vorrun. May I introduce you to my wife Olivia and my son James." James extended a handshake while his mother courtside.

"Vell met, Villiam," said the Bulgarian ambassador. "May I introduce my son Vassil? He vill be starting his tird year at Durmstrang in September."

"Splendid," James' father said. "My James will be starting his sixth year at Ilvermorny."

"Not Hogwarts?" the diplomat asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was given a choice when we found out about Da's posting here. The headmaster convinced me it would be advantageous to come to America rather than stay in England, because of the strong reputation for mediwizard training at this American school."

"Ah, a noble calling. Good luck vith your studies."

"Thank you, sir."

A few more foreign dignitaries were introduced when the line came to the last remaining big wig of the night.

"The Secretary of State, and former President of the Magical Congress of the United States, Madam Seraphina Picquery."

"Welcome to the British Embassy Madam Secretary."

"I am pleased to be here for such a happy occassion, Ambassador, especially after the Scamander episode several years ago."

"Yes, that was rather unfortunate, although it was all sorted out in the end. Apparently it was all due to a faulty latch on a travel case. There was no malicious intent involved."

"Yes, but it caused quite a stir within the No-Maj community here. It took MACUSA what felt like forever to get things sorted. Although I understand Mr Scamander married Porpentina Goldstein, one of our former Aurors, after everything that happened."

"I heard the same thing and that the two of them have been out seeking these fantastic beasts all over the world. I've also heard rumors they may be publishing a textbook from all their field notes, if you can believe that."

"Well, it does seem to have been a happy ending after all. Again, I am pleased to be here tonight Ambassador and I hope your stay here in New York is pleasant and uneventful."

"Thank you, Madam Secretary. I hope you enjoy the banquet tonight."

Eventually the line wound down and they were able to take their places at the head table so the feast could begin. The Ambassador wasn't kidding when he had said the embassy house elves would be going above and beyond even their already high standards. There were menu cards at each place setting with a good variety of entrees and appetizers from several countries, plus a soup or salad. James was in a seafood mood and selected lobster bisque and Maryland crab cakes in order to try delicacies from the States. He looked quickly to see many of the guests also taking the opportunity to try something new, although some clearly stuck with whatever native favorite they could find. The was also small talk among the guests during the meal, as most of the adults seemed to know each other from diplomatic circles or other work. Dessert was a rich local cheesecake topped with a delectable raspberry sauce. James couldn't believe how stuffed he felt as the tables were magically cleared and a selection of coffees and teas appeared. He was also surprised that a string quartet was setting up at the far end of the spacious room. James had been so focused on eating that he hadn't seen there was a dance floor left open among the tables. This truly was going to be an official ball.

The quartet struck up a waltz and a number of the European dignitaries stepped into the floor to dance, flowing effortlessly to the beat. He saw his parents were part of the flow towards the music. Not surprising as dancing was one of their favorite things to do as a couple. James had to have heard the story of how they had met on the dance floor at a mutual acquaintance's wedding hundreds of times while he was growing up.

"They are quite marvelous together, aren't they?"

James looked and saw it was the woman from MACUSA who had spoken.

"Aye, they never miss the chance to dance. 'Tis like breathing air for them." James' Scottish accent was a bit stronger than usual tonight. "Are relations between wizards and Muggles so much more difficult here in America, Madam Secretary? I seemed to pick up on that while you and my Da were talking."

"Difficult may be an understatement young man. For the past two centuries, we've had Rappaport's Law, which forbids all contact between the magical and non-magical communities here in this country. The No-Majs are no better now than they were in the 17th century during our Salem witch trials. So many innocents were killed in the hysteria by their own neighbors. I think that is part of the reason why the magical community here is so much smaller in proportion to the total population. There are no marriages between wizards and No-Majs in the United States, unlike those that I understand occur in the United Kingdom."

"And that was part of the troubles Scamander had caused, because those beasts he was searching for caused all sorts of chaos in the Muggle's world, even if it was all a big accident, correct Ma'am?"

"Very perceptive Mr McCrea. You don't happen to be studying to be an Auror now?"

"No Ma'am, I'll be looking to be a mediwizard when I finish school. Also part of the reason I'll be at Ilvermorny in the fall." James took a moment to reflect before asking Madam Picquery his next question. "So how do the folks take it when a magical child is born to Muggles?"

"Beyond the initial shock? Most parents are accepting; however, there are still a significant number of people in the No-Maj community who abhor magic, refusing to see it as anything other than a sign of evil and damnation. Those parents disown the child at best and some have tried to kill their child, seeing them as no better than a demon at that point."

"I'll need to remember that if I decide to go sightseeing before school starts. I doubt we could handle another accidental incident, do you?"

"No we don't. I find it very hard to believe you're not of age; you're wise beyond your years." Madam Picquery extended her hand. "It was nice to speak with you young man but I must mingle with the other guests. Until next time?"

They shook hands and parted in different directions, the politician heading towards the South American delegations while James headed around the edge of the room, trying to remember where the other teenagers present had been sitting. James thought he remembered the Danish Ambassador had brought a niece or daughter that was around his age. It might be nice to dance some of that rich dessert off. Paying more attention to the other guests than his path, he didn't see where he was going and almost knocked a woman over. Turning to apologize, he saw it was Mrs Potter.

"I am so sorry Ma'am. I've been being such a klutz tonight."

"Think nothing of it, Master McCrea. I was paying more attention to where Fleamont had gotten off to than to where I was going."

"I was trying to remember where I might have met your husband before Mrs Potter and it's finally hit me, if you pardon the pun. I think he was a sixth or seventh year at Hogwarts when I was a first year."

Euphrenia eyed him critically before responding. "Yes, I do believe you would have been a first year when he was a seventh year. You're about fifteen now, aren't you?"

"Yes Ma'am, although my birthday is coming up soon."

"Yes, it definitely would have been his seventh year when you first got to Hogwarts, although it sounds like you were not in the same house as he was."

"That's correct Ma'am, I was not sorted into Gryffindor."

"Hmm. You didn't directly tell me your house so I can only deduce you are in Slytherin. I further suspect you didn't mention it because you are worried I would assume you're one of those 'pure blood' fanatics."

"I you deduced correctly Ma'am. I am not one of those nutters but people might not see beyond the green and silver, if you ken."

"I do understand, laddie, and I'm glad Fleamont saw fit to see beyond that when we were courting." Mrs Potter said with a small wink as she began to scan the room again for her missing husband.

Before James could move himself he heard several loud thumps from around the perimeter of the large room followed by the sounds of crashing glass and women screaming. Turning towards the sound he saw the windows being blown in and men with hoods and masks fly through the debris, coming through on every side of the room.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** I had to change Seraphina Picquery's office from President to Secretary of State to keep a bit of canon accurate (according to Pottermore) as to when she was MACUSA President.


	3. Chapter 3

Characters and locations from the world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

 **Chapter 3 - Dances of Chaos**

Spells began to fly around the room, at first just from the strangers until the shock and surprise wore off the guests and the Aurors working security. James reacted quickly once the shock had passed, getting Mrs. Potter under cover down on the floor and casting _Protego Duo_ in order to shield the two of them. He had kept his wand with him out of habit and was now glad he did, although he was sure he'd be lectured about being underage and casting spells outside of school. James tried to keep an eye on the shadowy figures as best he could without presenting them a target. It looked like they were trying to converge on where James had last seen Lord Krum, the Bulgarian ambassador.

"Stay down," James whispered to Mrs. Potter, "I've cast a shield charm on you. You'll be fine if you don't move."

The woman nodded and moved under the nearest table. James added another shield charm and began to look for a better protective position for himself. A masked form passed his field of vision; he silently cast _Stupify_ and successfully hit the wizard. The stranger crumpled to the floor, apparently unnoticed; James cast _Petrificus Totalus_ to make sure they stayed down. Another dark figure raced past, but this one he recognized as an Auror from the embassy security detail. Many other guests were huddled under the tables like he and Mrs. Potter but it looked like a fair few had escaped the ballroom. The sounds of many small wizard duels fill the cavernous ballroom, spells zipping back and forth, but they still seemed clustered near where the dignitaries would have been mingling. Chancing a peek, James had a quick look to see if his parents were safe. He didn't catch any glimpse of his Mum or Da but he did see Mr. Potter dueling as part of the defenders, clearly the best dueler who was not an Auror.

A third shadow flickered in the corner of his eye. James turned and saw another of the masked assailants with a raised wand. James quickly raised a shield and deflected a wicked purple curse that shattered a wine glass. He thought about retaliating but the man kept firing curse after curse leaving James hard pressed to keep deflecting them, his left arm a blur. In a move of desperation, he angled his shield to deflect the next curse right back at the assailant. It was another of the wicked purple ones and he had succeeded; the curse rebounded and hit the man in his shoulder, opening a large gash almost down to the bone. As the man flinched from the excruciating pain James was able to hit the attacker with a _Stupify_. James didn't blanch at the wound, it was exactly what he'd be training to treat; he wasn't expecting to have caused the injury though, however indirectly. Keeping his wits about him, he cast a quick spell to bind the wound. It would be nothing more than first aid though; that gash would need a St Mungo's healer to truly fix it right.

"Accio wand."

James couldn't petrify the wounded man as there was too great a chance he would bleed to death if he did, even with the bandage, but he could still protect people by relieving him of his wand. It felt like a tree branch, certainly nothing you would find at Ollivanders. Tucking it into his belt, James continued to search for any sign of his parents. Slowly moving around, James felt splinters as a curse hits the table he's moving by. Diving for the next table he threw up a _Protego_ as another curse barely missed behind him.

"McCrea!"

James thought he recognized the voice. "That you Griffin?"

She quickly moved to where James had taken cover. "You need to keep your head down young man. You're making my job that much more difficult, especially if I don't immediately recognize that head as yours!"

"Believe me, that's been what I've trying to do. Were your people able to get my parents out of here?"

"Yes, we got them out, but we have to protect all the guests, not just the Ambassador."

"How many of these sassenachs crashed the party?"

"At least a dozen. Another reason for you to keep your head down."

"So you know, Mrs. Potter is taking cover here among the tables. I cast shield charms on her and told her to stay put. I petrified one of the assailants and caused another to take himself out. Here's the wand of that second chap." He removed that wand from his belt and passed it to the Auror.

"Gregorovich."

"Pardon?"

"This wand was made by Gregorovich, so we know the man you took this from wasn't a British or American wizard."

"What are they after?" James asked the Auror.

"We won't know for sure unless we can capture one and interrogate them, but I think they're trying to get Lord Krum."

"Aye, these interlopers seemed to all be heading to where I remember last seeing the Krums."

Griffin nodded, checked if the area was clear, and moved toward the sound of battle at the other end of the immense room. James peered over the table edge to watch the action from a distance but the action was moving closer to him. He saw an attacker curse one of the ministry Aurors and run towards where James was hiding. The man saw James's head and fired a _Stupify_ , which James easily blocked. The man was desperate though and continued firing multiple curses but James' shield charm was up to the task, protecting the young man as if the assailant was throwing a wadded piece of paper. But the man left him no openings to counter jinx; James only had time to block the next incoming curse. But James had also forced the man to concentrate on breaking through the shield charms if he wanted to escape. The distraction allowed a defender to stun the man from behind. A glance let James know it was Fleamont Potter that cast the quick _Stupify._

"The embassy security staff almost have these ruffians rounded up, so it seemed like a good time to look for my wife."

"I had her hide down under the tables near here and I have her well shielded."

"That's a relief," the worried spouse said. "And those were some pretty strong shields you were casting too, young man. Very impressive."

"Thank you, sir. Mr. Ollivander said my wand would be especially good for defensive magic."

"Really? And why would he say that?"

James held his wand up for Fleamont to see. "Rowan wood."

"And Phoenix core, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes. Also thirteen inches long and, this is the part of the description that always makes me chuckle, surprisingly swishy." James gave his wand a quick flourish. "I remember how I know you now. You were the champion dueler at Hogwarts; made a couple of the older boys in my house look pretty silly when I was a first year."

"By that time I was fairly well fed up with people making fun of my name so I wasn't going to let a couple of nasty blokes off lightly."

"Aye," James said with a chuckle, "they certainly had it coming to them. And they had started it too so you were well within your rights to defend yourself."

"Fleamont!"

Both men turned to see Mrs. Potter running towards them. Fleamont caught his wife up in a tight hug.

"Euphrenia my love. I thought In would never see you again."

"I was perfectly safe thanks to the Ambassador's son."

They couple hugged for several minutes before releasing and turning to the increasingly embarrassed boy. Euphrenia took tight hold of his shoulders before speaking. "Thank you. If we ever have a son, we will be naming him James."

This made the young McCrea blush. "Thank you ma'am, but I'm sure the Aurors had much more to do with your safety than I did."

"I'd like to know how an underage wizard was any help in this situation." The three Brits quickly looked toward the new voice. It was the MACUSA Secretary of State flanked by a pair of scary looking Aurors from her government. "Why do you have a wand outside of school young man?"

"Children in England may keep possession of their wands year round, Seraphina." It was James's father walking quickly towards the group. "And since the British Embassy and its grounds are considered English soil, my son has broken no laws, especially considering that no Muggles were present and his spell casting would absolutely be allowed under the life threatening situation exception in the British Restrictions on Underage Magic."

"And the lad would have diplomatic immunity anyway," James's mother added, hurrying to catch up with her husband. Her Scottish burr was very strong, a clear sign his Mum was agitated.

"Very well," the Amercan said, "but I must request that young Mr. McCrea leave his wand here if decides to sight see in the city before school, as it is United States magical law that underage witches and wizards leave their wands at Ilvermorny during all school breaks. And his wand will need to be registered with us, also United States law."

The Ambassador looked sternly at the MACUSA official before nodding imperceptibly. "Yes, I can have Griffin send that information to your office in the morning."

"Thank you, Ambassador; I should take my leave now. Please let my office know if there is anything the U.S. government can do to assist you with the aftermath of tonight's unpleasantries."

As the government officials began shaking hands a man began screaming in Bulgarian, the anger clear through the foreign words. The group turned to see Lord Krum spit on a captured assailant. The McCreas looked at each other before moving toward the Bulgarian diplomat, the Americans close behind.

"What seems to be the problem, Sir?" Griffin asked the man.

"I am not believing this petty fool, this useless vorthless bureaucrat vould even think it vas good idea to attack me at major state function!" The man's accent thickened with his anger. A maniacal look crossed his face before he leapt at the prisoner and ripped his shirt at the left shoulder. The move exposed a strange tattoo just below the man's collar bone. It looked like a triangle enclosing a circle, both split down the middle. (1)

Lord Krum spat at the man again before muttering a single word.

"I beg your pardon Ambassador Krum, but that was not a Bulgarian vulgarity," Griffin said. "Could you repeat what you said a little louder please?"

"I said 'Grindelvald'. It is the name of the vizard these svine are vorking for. He has caused much hardship in Bulgaria but has constantly eluded our grasp. Ve believe he is hiding in Germany, possibly right under the nose of that firebrand Muggle Chancellor there as a behind the scenes advisor."

"Would you be wanting to make a formal extradition claim for these men, Lord Krum?" Ambassador McCrea asked his counterpart.

"Bah! You and Seraphina may fight over them. I vould vish for immediate death for these traitors! Now let me find my son."

"Your son was taken to our secure area downstairs with a number of the other high ranking guest, Lord Krum; he is perfectly safe," Griffin said.

"This could have been bad if these men had gotten to Lord Krum," James said, "and worse if they had gotten Vassil too."

"Hmm. That is an interesting motive," Griffin said. "Killing the high ranking wizarding families could throw that country into chaos."

"Since you kindly reminded me that this is considered British soil, you may have the honor of dealing with these criminals," the American woman said. "None of my people were hurt so we really don't have a dog in this fight."

"That settles it," Ambassador McCrea said, "Griffin, take these men into custody and get the injured medical attention. Looks like the party's over."

* * *

James and his parents made their way up to the residence floor of the embassy, closely followed by two of Griffin's Aurors. It was a surreal ending to what had been a nice evening, albeit one geared more to the adults. He had a wistful expression as he realized he never did find the niece of the Swedish ambassador.

"Well, I don't know about you my love, but with all the excitement I will be needing another shower and a glass of fire whiskey. I've heard the embassy has some very rare years of Nithercotts in stock," James's father said while looking at his Mum.

"Aye, they would stock the good stuff," she replied with a twinkle, "and all single malts too!"

"I don't suppose I'd be allowed a sip?" James asked hopefully.

"Did you forget you're still underage?" His father said.

"My bairn was certainly quite the man tonight," his Mum interjected, "and he's certainly earned a wee sip. It's not like we'd be giving him the bottle now William." She crossed her arms, a signal that the debate between his parents was over.

"Fine," his father said with a tone that acknowledged defeat, "but just a wee glass and no more than two fingers. Are we clear on that?"

"Crystal clear, Da." James couldn't suppress his grin; tonight seemed to be his coming of age even if he wasn't seventeen yet.

His parents both gave him a good night hug when they reached his rooms before heading further down the hall to their own suite. James walked in, got undressed from his formal wear and slowly got into an old but comfortable pair of pajamas. As he moved out of the bedroom to the sitting area of his quarters, he saw a glass of shimmering brown liquid on the table next to the high backed reading chair, the aroma of alcohol wafting through the room. Sitting in that comfy stuffed chair, James grabbed the glass and hesitantly brought it up to his lips, the scent of the liquor becoming more complex as it got closer to his nose. Not one to be too cautious, he shrugged and took a small sip. The sensation as he swallowed was that of gulping down a glowing ember from the fireplace as he started to sweat and imagine steam jetting out of his ears as if he had eaten a handful of pepper imps. The initial burning soon died down and a pleasant warmth flooded the rest of his body. Another sip stirred that ember again, but his body was now used to the fiery sensation and more of the pleasant feeling spread throughout his muscles. He had not even realized how much they had been aching, especially his wand arm. Two more sips and he had drained the glass, the fire whiskey relaxing him to the point of sleepiness. Moving back to the bedroom, James crawled into bed and was soon dozing peacefully, his mind contemplating the strange tattoo of the assailant, trying to puzzle out its significance.

* * *

The morning brought a calmness to the embassy. The damage from last night's attack had been cleaned up and repaired and the staff bustled about on their usual tasks. James quickly showered and dressed before heading down to the informal dining area for breakfast. His parents had made it down before him, but not by much, since it looked like they had only gotten coffee so far.

"Well laddie," his Mum spoke, "seems you handled you liquor fine enough."

"It was just what I needed," James replied, "I slept so soundly last night."

"But don't think you'll be making a habit of that," his Da chided. "That was a special occasion."

"Yes, Da," James said with a roll of his eyes, which set the whole family to a bout of laughter.

The talk around the breakfast table was light, but James could tell his parents were a little concerned about last night's attack on a foreign dignitary and he was sure Griifin or someone on her staff had sent a report back home to the Ministry before the last shard of glass was cleaned up. There was a lot to go over and his Da would certainly have a busy first day. Unfortunately, James would have nothing to do even if the dance had ended as scheduled without incident. There was nothing he was required to do before school started.

"It seems your Da will be tied up in Floo calls all day," his Mum said, "so it might be nice for the two of us to go into the city. Maybe Griffin could scare us up a guide to the sights of New York, wizarding or Muggle."

"That sounds wonderful," James said, "I was worried I'd be cooped up here until term started." His Mum's tone was light but he could tell she was very worried and needing a guide was the perfect pretext to request a bodyguard for their excursion.

After speaking with Griffin, it was decided this first trip would be to wizarding sights, specifically the New York equivalent to Diagon Alley. They would need to stop there to exchange their British galleons for American dragots and later for American Muggle money. Then they could explore further afield in the city. Dressing in their more casual wizarding outfits, James and his Mum met in the main study with an Auror named Benson, the man selected as their escort.

"Right Ma'am," Benson began, "We'll be Flooing to Devlin's, a British style pub similar to the Leaky Cauldron. There will be direct access to the plaza from there."

Stepping in turn through the green flames, James walked into an establishment that was certainly in the style of a proper British pub but was too bright, quite unlike the Leaky Cauldron. To be fair, the Cauldron had a few centuries head start on this place, so the patina of age was much more pronounced. Following the Auror to the exit, James and his Mum were surprised at the number and height of the buildings here, each housing a particular kind of shop and each holding dozens if not hundreds of shops.

"Makes the Alley look like a small country fair," his Mum whispered.

"That is does," James replied.

"Stay close," Beson said, "it will be a little bit of a walk to the bank."

Moving in what James believed to be an easterly direction, Benson led the trio several blocks towards what was clearly a financial hot bed. Entering the front door, he noticed that there was a branch of Gringots but also what seemed to be the national wizarding banks of several nations.

"This is amazing," James gasped.

"New York is one of the great cities of the world," Benson said. "People from every nation come here for business or a new life. Wizard and Muggle."

"So how do they keep Muggles from discovering this?" Olivia asked. "It's hard enough for the Ministry to keep Diagon Alley out of sight."

"The MACUSA people have round the clock staff keeping up the anti-Muggle charms and making sure the local No-Maj don't stumble in," Benson said, "Well, here's the Gringots branch. Not sure how busy they'll be."

"No-Maj?"

"It's what the Americans call Muggles."

"One of the many differences we'll need to get used to, Mum."

"I suppose so laddie," Olivia said. "Right. I think we should be fine exchanging two hundred and fifty galleons for now. We don't be needing your father lecturing us about wasting money."

The exchange rate was favorable for the McCreas today, one and one fifth dragots to the galleon, so the pair had three hundred dragots jingling in Mrs. McCrea's money bag as they left Gringots. Now they just needed to figure out where to start their shopping expedition. He hadn't received a supplies list for school yet, but James suspected he'd need new robes for Ilvermorny. It would be weird not wearing the green and silver of Slytherin. His mother agreed, commenting that they'd also need to get a look at American wizarding fashion.

"Any excuse for a new robe, Mum?"

"Hush lad. You know it's my one vice."

"The fashion district is over this way, Ma'am." Benson pointed to the left, towards an area with several brightly coloured buildings that looked more like sculptures than structures.

"Oh my. There stands the potential for much trouble."

"Only if you insist on buying everything you discover mum."

"Then we'll be getting your school robes first. Your Da will not say I've not taken care to your needs."

They found the shop specializing in academic wear and saw youngsters of all ages trying different styles of robes. It took a while for James and his Mum to find the counter for Ilvermorny. The bored clerk asked James for his house, in order to get the correct color trim.

"Slytherin," James said out of habit.

"Slithering? You trying to be funny kid? That's not an Ilvermorny house!"

"Sorry sir," his Mum said, "my bairn is a transfer student. There's not been sorting yet."

"Hmm. I'll have to see what we've got in stock. We usually only carry the generic robes in the smaller sizes. You know, for eleven year olds."

"Well surely your tailors aren't so poor that they couldn't do a simple re-sizing now?" Mum asked.

"Oh, don't worry. We do custom jobs. I just want to see if we've got anything off the rack first. You about a forty-four regular robe kid?"

"Yes sir. I do believe that's right."

"Just what I thought. Nothing bigger than a thirty-two in stock. Ok. I'll take your measurements and we'll get cracking. How many robe sets you looking at?"

"Well won't we need to wait until James gets sorted?"

"Nah lady. These beginner robes get transferred to the proper house colors after the kids get sorted."

"Sounds like what happened at Hogwarts first year Mum."

"Then I believe four shall suffice. We can always get more at holiday break."

"Will you be using our same day service or are we delivering them in a couple of days when the order is complete?"

"Could you have my son's robes delivered to the British Embassy when you've completed them?"

"Sure thing lady. Hey, you weren't there last night when all the fighting went down, were you?"

"Aye, we were," Mrs. McCrea said cautiously. "It was a terrible fright."

"Yes it was."

James turned with a start. Neither he nor his Mum had noticed the young girl who had walked up to the counter. He realized it was the niece of the Danish Ambassador.

"Aye, lass," Olivia said. "You're Ambassador Borland's niece, are you not?"

"Yes Ma'am. My name is Tora and I was having a wonderful time at the party until those men came."

"Yes, rotten luck there," James said. "Those brigands stole the show before I had a chance to ask you to dance."

Tora gave him a shy smile and James blushed; he had inadvertently revealed his crush to the object of his crush.

"You'll have a chance next week, dearie," his Mum said. "The Danish embassy will be holding a ball next week in honor of their Muggle king's birthday." She had a knowing smile on her face.

"I hope you will be coming with your parents," Tora said. She leaned in closer and said, "I would like to collect on that dance." Her shyness was gone, replaced with a flirtatious grin. "We can talk about Ilvermorny as well if you wish."

"You'll be there too?" asked James. "What year are you."

"I will be a sixth year as well," she said. "And also studying to be a mediwizard. But I have been there since first year; my father became Ambassador when I was ten."

"We will be happy to see you again next week Miss Tora," James's Mum said. "Say, if you don't have any other errands, maybe you can trot about with us as we explore?" That caused her son to blush a deeper red.

"I will ask my mother if I may join you; she may even want to, what do the Americans say, 'tag along'."

"Splendid," Olivia said. James had a sinking feeling this would be turning into a ladies shopping trip.

The rest of the day was not as bad as James had feared and he wound up enjoying himself. It was good for his mother as well, as she was begining to make friends with the wives of other dignitaries in diplomatic circles. Their new friends had a wealth of knowledge about the shopping area, called Gossamer Boulevard, and they knew the out of the way spots that only the local wizards would frequent. Tora had a wonderfully dry sense of humor and could deliver any number of one-liners with a straight face. James was the butt of a few of her jokes but Tora flashed a mischievous grin to show it was only friendly teasing. She was perfect in James's eyes and he was crushing on her even harder by the time they had to part company. Olivia smiled a hidden grin, knowing full well her son's long term dating plans just had a giant spanner thrown in the works.

* * *

James was excited and energetic over the week they had to wait until the Danish royal celebration. It wasn't any activities that were keeping him busy but the rapidly changing thoughts he kept having about Tora: Was she a good dancer? Was it proper to bring her a small gift, like a corsage? Was she a good kisser? Would she kiss back if he did try to kiss her? He had been like an adult and focused on his career and studies until he had met Tora but now James was feeling nervous like any other teenage boy for his first crush.

 _Please don't let me make an arse of myself at the ball._ This was James's final thought as he started getting his dress robes on, much more nervous than he had been the night of the Welcoming Ball. That event seemed years ago now. He did decide that a corsage was appropriate for Tora, although he was taking a chance getting her one of white tulips. At least it was a subtle choice, quite different than roses, which would pretty much shout 'I love you' to those versed in the language of flowers. James wasn't that besotted a teen to think it was true love at this early stage of their relationship but he was definitely hoping things would turn serious in the near future. Of course he didn't know how protective her uncle would be, possibly ready with a curse if he thought James was not good enough for Tora or not treating her well. He had no control over that last scenario, only the chance to make a good first impression.

Remembering the harsh words of the MACUSA president, James again tucked his wand into the drawer of his nightstand as he had the day of their shopping trip. He would clearly be off British soil when he left the embassy with his parents and didn't need the aggravation of running afoul of American wizarding laws. One last adjustment of his bow tie and James headed down to meet his parents in the study to Floo over.

"A wrist corsage. Very good choice."

"Thanks Da."

"Not trying too hard to impress the lass, are ya?" Olivia chimed in.

"No Mum. It's just polite to bring a gift for the host."

"Hmm, considering that the host is the Danish embassy as a whole, I ken you'll need a lot more corsages."

"You're Mum is only teasing lad. That lass of yours will be enamored of your gift."

"I'm just hoping she'll not be laughing in my face when I present it to her."

The Danish Floo room looked like any other study James was familiar with; he almost wondered if there was an agreed upon standard for how official buildings had to be designed. Walking just behind his parents he followed the steam of witches and wizards arriving for the celebration, cleaning his neck for a glimpse of Tora. His father hadn't said whether there would be a formal receiving line but James had taken it as a certainty that there would be. Sure enough, the line slowed at the entrance to the ball room as the protocol officers acted like the bouncers of a night club, controlling the flow of the line of guests. The line moved fairly quickly and soon James and his parents had gotten to the Danish Ambassador but Tora was not standing next to him. A much older woman was there, her arm interlocking with the Ambassador's.

"William. Olivia. Welcome to our celebration. May I introduce my wife Olga? As you remember, she was too ill to attend your welcoming feast."

"Thank you for inviting us tonight, Gustav," William said, "although I suspect Olga didn't miss much last week. You remember our son, James?"

"I do indeed. My niece has been speaking often of you this week young man and you have apparently won over Ingrid, my sister. She is very protective of Tora."

James blushed slightly with a small grin. "I am glad to know that. Tora's mum had spent most of our shopping excursion talking to my own Mum."

"And such a wonderful woman Ingrid is Ambassador," Olivia said. "It will be a good thing to see her again tonight."

"Indeed. Well, I believe we have satisfied the requirements of protocol. Go my friends and enjoy the evening!"

Gustav clapped William's shoulder with a hearty laugh and released the McCreas to the sights, sounds, and smells of the party, cleary not as stuffy and staid as a typical state function. Champaign was flowing for those of age, butterbeer for those who were younger, and it looked like hard liquor was being served at a bar in the far corner. Waiters circulated through the crowd bearing trays of canapes and hors d'oeuvres and other delights concocted by the house elves of the Danish staff. But the confection to the left of the head table held everyone's attention. The official birthday cake for the celebration had seven layers and five gigantic candles. The flames must have been magical because James didn't see any wax dripping down the bodies of the candles. Then to his surprise, jets of sparks shot out of the candle tips, glittering and lighting up the whole ceiling. The crystals in the chandeliers reflected the fire of the candles throughout the room, adding to the festive atmosphere. He was so caught up viewing the scenery that James did not notice Tora sidle up to him.

"They are beautiful, are they not James?"

"Almost as beautiful as you," he said automatically, a grin on his face, still looking at the decorations around the ballroom. Then the impact of what he had said and to whom hit him and he blushed a deep red. "That was out loud, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was. You are so cute when you are nervous."

James looked at Tora and saw a twinkle in her eyes and a slight blushing her cheeks. He wondered if that was because nobody had called her beautiful before but he realized she had probably been called that many times in her life; she blushed because he had called her beautiful.

"Oi, where are my manners. I have something for you." James opened his small box and presented the corsage to Tora.

"That is very pretty James. Thank you." She smiled, blushed again, and held her arm out for James to put the corsage on her wrist. "Are you ready to have that dance now?"

"Absolutely."

She took his extended arm and the young couple moved towards the large dance floor, gliding easily to the lively waltz that was playing, whirling around as if they were professional dancers. They stayed partnered for the next several songs, flowing with a grace few teenagers possessed. It was a disappointment when someone finally tapped James on the shoulder and cut in but the look Tora gave him let James know the last dance would be his alone.

"Come lad.'Tis not the time to be a wallflower."

James had been going to get a drink but his Mum had dragged him back to the dance floor. He had danced with his mother before at parties but this time was different. He was nearly an adult so Olivia felt no need to hold back as she might have when her son was young. She whirled James around with the energy he had seen her and his Da dance with, her pure talent guiding the both of them through ever more complex steps. James was game to keep up but he didn't quite have the same stamina of his parents; after the fourth song, he had to put his hand up and call for a break.

"I forget you're still a bairn," his Mum said playfully, "but mark my words, there'll come a day when 'tis me begging off for a rest from the dancing."

"I guess you were always taking it easy on me when I was a wee lad?"

"And now you're ready, especially since you have a lass to keep entertained."

"That was amazing James," Tora said. "Were you holding back with me before?"

"Nae, 'twas all my Mum. Could'a been a professional, she could."

"James!" Olivia exclaimed with a playful slap at his shoulder. "Tis your Da I expect the flattery from, not you."

"Who's the flatterer?" The trio looked to see James's Da.

"Bout time ya got back," Olivia said in mock annoyance. "This wee bairn could barely make it through four songs before he was ready to collapse. Now quit lollygagging and escort me back to the dance floor."

"Aye dear," William said with a straight face. Before he was dragged off by his Mum, Da leaned over and whispered to James, "Always keep 'em happy." He gave James a wink then caught up with his energetic wife.

"Your parents are quite a wonderful match."

"Aye, they are. I hope I'll have a marriage like theirs when it's time for me to settle down."

"Just having a fling or two until then?" Tora's voice had taken a hard edge.

"Far from it," he said. "I never pictured myself getting married until after I was a full fledged mediwizard. But I also never thought I'd meet a wonderful girl before then too."

"We would be students, not monks, when we did our residencies James." Her tone had changed to hopeful and she trailed a finger down James's jawline.

"Tora Svendotter! What are you doing with that _English_ boy? He looks like a mud-blood lover and a milk drinker to boot!"

James head snapped to see an old and gnarled man making his way toward the two teens. He was clearly not in his prime but he still had an air of danger about him, a warrior not quite gone to seed. James could now see a slew of military decorations on the man's jacket and enough braiding to suggest he is, or was, a field marshal. A wizard like that would have more than a few curses in his arsenal and most would be guaranteed to be deadly.

"So. Uncle has let you out of your kennel?"

"You should not disrespect your elders, dear. Especially the ones with the power to block you from receiving one kroner of the family fortune."

"I must apologize for my Grandfather, James, since you will never get one from him directly."

"Is this how we have raised you? You are a pureblood and an heiress; please start acting like one!"

That comment raised James's dander, a mistake when ever you dealt with a Scotsman. "Well, _Sir_ , the McCrea clan may not be considered part of that snobby 'Sacred Twenty-Eight' in Britain, but I ken our blood's just as pure as any old wizarding family." He punctuated the statement with a snort.

"Good. You have spirit boy. I was worried you would be a typical milquetoast Englishman."

"You would be dealing with a Scot, sir." James straightened to his full height.

"You might just be a good match for our Tora then." The elderly wizard put his hand on James's arm and drew him close with a surprising strength. "But if you break her heart your parents will never find your corpse. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." It took all James's self control not to flinch or to start a fight, but he would not back down.

"Then I expect you to act like the gentleman you appear to be." He turned to his granddaughter. "Enjoy the party."

The two teens watched the old man saunter to the bar serving hard liquor, no doubt to get a tumbler of vodka.

"Grandfather really does love me. I can't stand the pureblood propaganda though."

"Not much different in Britain, I suppose. Most of the old, wealthy families there still think we're living in the Victorian era but it's not eighteen eighty anymore!"

"You did impress Grandfather. Most suitors have withered and ran when they first met him."

"Other suitors?" It was James's turn to have a hard expression.

"Please. You must realize that as girl in an old, wealthy family, there are no shortage of people who are trying to arrange a political marriage between their sons and myself. Luckily I am not the eldest heir nor are my parents living in the past, so I have an outside chance of marrying for love." Tora gave a small chuckle. "Sometimes I think my family tells Grandfather to be a watchdog for my honor, the better to scare away, how do you British say, the gits?"

James let out a hearty laugh. If he wasn't in love with Tora before, he certain was now. "I hope you do find love Tora. Life is unbearable without it."

"I think I am closer than I would have ever thought to being in love." The look James saw in her eyes told him she was very close indeed.

"Shall we get back out to the dance floor then, my sweet?" James had never used a pet name before and wasn't sure how she would react. But if the encounter with her grandfather had taught him anything, it was he needed to be bold around her and her family. He was rewarded with a dazzling smile when she took his arm and led him back towards the dancing.

The party flowed with the energy of lively music and the young couple twirled and waltzed for a couple of hours, barely taking a break for cold drinks to soothe their thirst. Eventually Tora pulled James off the dance floor and informed him she was going to powder her nose. James also thought it was a good time to 'see a man about a horse', as his father would say. Heading down the hallway to the Men's water closet, he didn't take notice of four young adults following him down the hall and James had no way of knowing they were not also only there to use the water closet. One stayed outside the facilities as a lookout while the remaining three moved to surround James. The leader grabbed James's shoulder and spun him around.

"Stay away from Tora."

"Her Grandfather already gave me the evil eye gents." James said.

"The old fool was only testing you. We are telling you that Tora is not yours to have." The leader hissed.

"Not according to her." James looked for an opening but the ruffians had the exit blocked.

"She will be made to have a traditional arranged marriage, and it will not be to a smarmy Englishman."

"Sassenachs! I'm a Scotsman, not a bloody English fop. And you'll not be telling me who I can or canna date. D'ya ken?" James anger rose, despite being outnumbered. "You need three of you brigands to give me that message?"

"No. This is our message."

The lead ruffian took a round house swing with his right fist. James ducked and jabbed the first attacker twice in the face, stunning him enough for James to push him into one of the other thugs. Unfortunately, that left him open for the third thug to grab him by the waist and tackle James into the sinks. Thinking quickly, James grabbed the head of that attacker and slammed it into the closest sink, stunning him enough to let go. James untangled his legs from the man's grip and stepped into the center of the room to get space to maneuver. _Good thing these gits aren't too organized._ The first one of the original two to rise up charged blindly at James instead of waiting to attack in a coordinated way. That would give James the advantage if he could deal with each one at a time. This time he side stepped and pushed that ruffian into one of the toilet stalls. This left one one more to take care of, but this was the one who started this fight. He would not be easy to finish off. Smarter than his compatriots, he did not make a second blind charge at James but took the time to test James's defenses with a series of quick jabs. None connected but they give the attacker a sense of James's speed and agility. James had to figure a way to get past him before either of the others got back in the brawl. In desperation, James lowered his shoulder and drove it into the man's stomach, like he was making a tackle in the Muggle game of rugby. He succeeded in knocking the wind out of the thug and pushed him to the side away from the exit. Before he could open the door, it flung open into the water closet, a fourth ruffians pointing a gnarled tree like wand in James's face. The new attacker flicked the wand and James felt his whole body go stiff. _Wonderful. Petrificus Totalus._

"Fools! Why were you wasting time with fisticuffs? You should have hurt him with a curse and be done with it!"

Another flick of the man's wand and James felt every nerve in his body erupt in fiery pain, as if he had touched a high voltage line. The man ended the pain for a few heartbeats before cursing James again. The excruciating pain made it difficult for James to think but he realized the young man must have been using the _Cruciatus_ curse. But being magically bound, the only reaction James could show was a trail of tears out of his left eye. The door guard hit James one last time with the _Cruciatus_ curse and beckoned his mates to follow him out of the Men's water closet as they were beginning to rise and regain their composure. The two weakest ones came over to James and kicked him sharply in the ribs. They exited the water closet and left James under the effects of the _Body Bind Curse._ He would have winced, if possible; it felt as if at least one of his ribs was broken. Who knew how long he would be on the floor until someone discovered him?

Thankfully it was less than fifteen minutes before another guest stumbled in, clearly drunk, and tripped over James's prone form.

"Oi. What are you doing on the floor young man? Sneak too much fire whiskey?"

The man poked at James with the tip of his shoe and realized that the young wizard was not passed out but frozen in place. Too drunk to effectively use his wand, but not so drunk as to attempt it, he stagger back to the ballroom to find an Auror or embassy staff member. A few minutes more and the man was back with a pair of serious looking men in Danish staff livery. One cast _Finite_ to release James while the other checked James for injuries. He gasped as the Mediwizard pressed along his chest, making the chance he had a broken rib a reality. They conjured a stretcher and levitated James onto it. Before the Mediwizard moved the stretcher, the first man leaned over and asked James if he had seen who had done this to him. James nodded his head but winced when he tried to breathe, his injured ribs were preventing him from speaking. James thought he heard his parents' voices coming down the service hall and tried to raise his head but the effort was too much. His head dropped back down to the stretcher as he began to lose consciousness.

* * *

Author's note:

(1) The tattoo is the symbol for the Deathly Hallows of course.

Again, edits made to Seraphina's office.


	4. Chapter 4

Characters and locations from the world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

 **Chapter 4 – A Different Sort of Sorting**

James opened his eyes and stared into a ceiling of bright lights. The pain in his ribs was down to a dull ache when he took a deep breath, a great improvement over what he could remember before drifting into unconsciousness at the Danish embassy. He slowly remembered the last moments of the Danish birthday ball and could not figure out why the four men would attack him like that over a girl, especially one as independent and lively as Tora. It almost sounded as if Tora refusing to go through with an arranged marriage would ruin someone's plans, although James was sure the four men were merely lackeys. Yet only one used a wand. Were the other three as stupid as they were accused of being or were they underage and caught in the MACUSA restriction as James was? The man who had cursed James seemed to think the trio had wands, but maybe they hadn't.

He was in a hospital, one which reinforced the idea that they all looked alike: the same rooms, the same white paint, and the same bright lights. Staff had been coming in and out and James could tell by accents that he had been taken to a local hospital and suspected it was a magical one. It was extremely unlikely, yet not out of the realm of possibility, that he had been taken to a Muggle hospital. Looking around as far as his neck would allow, he saw a familiar bottle of pain potion on a table next to his bed, a comforting reminder this was indeed a wizarding hospital. But he had no idea where this place was. The various magical embassies were all in the same general area but who knew where the Americans would place a hospital since it would need to service the wizarding community at large.

"You're awake."

The voice of his Mum echoed through the quiet room. Turning to the other side of his bed, James saw she was still in her dress robes from this evening. Or was it last evening? He had no idea how long he'd been out.

"Have ye not had a chance to go home and change, Mum?" James asked in a raspy voice.

"You've not been here long enough for me to have gone home. Your Da is out in the hall trying to get an update from a nurse or doctor."

"How long was I out?"

"Not quite two hours. You had a broken rib and the doctors got it healing up right nice."

"Any word on the bloody sassenachs that attacked me?"

"Not really. The constables will be needing descriptions from you now that you're awake."

"T'will not be soon enough. Did they say when they'd be back?"

"Soon I suspect. They left to get coffee a few minutes ago."

James slowly sat up to be ready for their return, eager to let someone else know about the details about the attack. He saw a worried expression on his Mum's face and wondered if his injuries were worse than he himself had expected. The door opened and one of the nurses came in followed closely by his Da. James saw a glimmer of relief on his Da's face when the older McCrea saw James was awake. Two wizards clad in black leather dusters were behind his Da, each holding a small cup of steaming liquid.

"May we talk to your son, Ambassador, now that he's awake?" The older of the two wizards had spoken

"Of course," his Da told the man. His father looked at James, "This is Daniel Bridges, the head of MACUSA's Auror department."

"Isn't it a bit of overkill for you to be investigating an assault Mr. Bridges?" Olivia asked.

"This is the second incident at a foreign embassy within the last week and a half Mrs. McCrea. President Picquery is taking this very seriously, since we now appear to have a pattern."

"I hate to disagree," James said, "but the brigands who roughed me up last night didn't look a bit like the ones that caused the ruckus at our embassy. I don't see a connection."

"That we know of yet," Bridges said.

"Well, I can certainly tell you that the three who used me for a punching bag were possibly underage. The fourth one was complaining they didn't just curse me and be done with it and that last one was the only one I saw with a wand."

"Why do you think that makes them underage?" Bridges asked.

"Because I'm underage and was required to leave my wand at the British Embassy tonight," James stated plainly. "Either that or they enjoy pummeling blokes. The three younger ones also seemed like flunkies, as if the one with the wand was the actual leader. Also, the only one of the first three to speak was warning me off about a girl. So unless the Danish Ambassador's niece is a pawn in an international power play, I'm not seeing the connection to Grindelwald like the blokes that crashed the party at the British Embassy."

"Interesting observations," Bridges said. "Would you be able to describe your assailants to our sketch artist?" The dour Auror pointed toward his companion.

"Absolutely. I'm ready now if he is."

It was a grueling hour before James and the artist were satisfied he had described the four men as accurately as possible. A nurse came into the room as they were finishing and shooed the Aurors out and gently reminded his parents that visiting hours were over and the patient needed sleep to heal properly. She looked barely out of nursing training, much like the young nurse at Hogwarts, Ms. Pomfrey. She was correct though; James desperately needed sleep and he didn't fuss when she brought a potion of dreamless sleep over to him.

"We'll be back after breakfast, deary." His mother kissed him on the forehead.

"Always embarrassing the lad, Liv?" his Da asked with a chuckle.

"'Tis a mother's right," his Mum said, "and 'twill be until my dying day."

"Then I will see you both in the morning," James said. After his parents left the room, he drank the sleeping potion and settled in for the rest of the night. He hoped the quickness of healing would continue and they'd be able to release him tomorrow. The last thing James wanted was to be stuck in the hospital when first term started at Ilvermorny.

* * *

His rib did heal splendidly but James remained at the hospital for nearly a week. The staff wished to observe him for any lingering effects of the _Cruciatus_ curse James had been on the receiving end of. Apparently there had not been any study on how long the effects lasted after being cursed which was not surprising. Only the most vile and wretched wizards used something as devastating as an Unforgivable curse and most victims weren't alive to study afterwards. James was also lucky to have only been exposed to the curse for a few minutes. The mediwizards had mentioned anecdotal evidence that people went insane after being tortured for hours on end with the _Cruciatus_ curse, but few victims ever made it to the hospital before death. Grim discussion topics for sure, but the kind of impromptu lessons James would be glad of when he started his own Mediwizard training.

It was not all boredom, as his parents visited regularly and it was still another week and a half before he had to worry about the start of school. James would definitely be discharged before then but the boredom was killing him. The mediwizards and nurses had kept him in bed not even allowed out for a trip to the water closet. It gave him the chance to ask questions, but he could only get so much knowledge of healing from being a patient himself. The only solace was that they were finally going to let him out of bed to walk today, and if all was well he could leave in another day or two.

"Did I tire you out so much dancing?"

James snapped back from his daydream and looked toward the door of his room. He smiled when he saw it was Tora. "Now this is a pleasant surprise," he said.

"I am sorry I could not come sooner, but security around all the magical embassies has been heightened. I needed to wait until an escort could be provided."

"Not surprising, from what that MACUSA Auror had told me. And I really wasn't supposed to be here so long either but the mediwizards are being extra cautious."

"You won't still be here when we need to leave for Ilvermorny?"

"I think they'll be springing me out in another couple of days. I am bored to tears laying here doing nothing so I will happily take one more trip to Gossamer Boulevard to get the odor of hospital out of my nose"

"Good luck getting there without a dozen chaperones from your embassy staff and a signed permission slip from the MACUSA president."

"You're probably right, but a lad can dream, can't he?" James eyes twinkled with amusement before slipping into a melancholy expression. "Are men always fighting over you? I dinna ken I can take that much exercise and activity on a daily basis."

"That is the reality right now, James. It does not help that my father died when I was very little. I still have my mother but as the patriarch of my family, my uncle is in control of my life. I am not the eldest heir, but as a girl I have little say in my life because my family still acts as if it were eighteen eighty. I am hoping beyond hope I will be able to find someone worthy, but if a respected family presents a proper match for me to my uncle and I am unbetrothed, he will be honor bound to accept it and…"

"And you'll be forced to marry the bloke," James interrupted, "no matter how big a cad he is."

"It's always been a real possibility and if that match would be extremely advantageous for our family, then I might be forced into marriage even if I have fallen in love with someone I find more desirable."

"So would that mean you would ultimately only be having a fling, or two, before your uncle made you get married?"

"No. Like you I had never imagined I would ever fall in love before being swept along to my fate. It helps that you are from an old and respected wizarding family in England, but there are several old wizarding families in Denmark and other European countries that would seek to make a marriage of alliance with my family, especially with the Muggles in Germany marching towards another world war."

"So when did you fall in love?" James mischievous smirk was back.

"You are presuming quite a lot, James."

"Somehow I don't think so. In fact I'd say being a suave dancer probably tipped the scales in my favor."

"Hmph. So not only do you presume that I have fallen in love, you also presume that it is with you." Her voice held an annoyed but amused tone. James sensed she was teasing him.

"Well, I canna ken falling in love with someone who didn't love me back." James's voice had lost the amused tone it had when he was teasing her. He now looked and sounded hopeful that she had in fact fallen in love with him. _'Twill be a sad, difficult year at school if she hadn't,_ he thought.

She came and stood at the side of the hospital bed and slowly grabbed James's left hand with her own. Her face held a peaceful smile as she gently squeezed his hand and intertwined their fingers. "That is something I could not live with either, James. The man who wins my heart will surely know it and will have given me his heart in return without a second thought."

The two teens stayed there in unmoving silence, searching each other's expressions for the answers to many questions. If you had asked them later, each would have said they were that way for hours, but it was only ten minutes before James's parents and the mediwizards came back into the room. Olivia McCrea paused a moment in the doorway to examine the innocence of the scene, and a smile appeared on her lips as she became more sure than ever her son had fallen hard for this girl at his bedside and that she had fallen just as far. She glanced at her husband who had a bemused look on his face. He had not been with them at Gossamer Boulevard and had not seen the beginnings of a relationship then, so it was a pleasant surprise this young lady was holding James's hand.

"Tora," Olivia said, "the mediwizards will be needing James to do some physical therapy, to make sure there are no lingering effects of the curses he received. Will you come with us to the cafeteria for a bite while he's gone off?"

Slowly breaking their visual connection, James and Tora looked at James's mother and smiled, apparently having gotten the answers each had been seeking.

"Thank you Mrs. McCrea, but I will need to leave soon. I do not know if I will be back before James is released but I will be in touch soon about traveling to school for start of term." Tora leaned down to kiss James's cheek then headed toward the exit. Before the young woman made it out the door, Mrs. McCrea grabbed her in an impulsive hug.

"You've found a worthy lad in my James and I'm sure he's glad I like you too."

Tora blushed and muttered a thank you and looked at Olivia with an embarrassed smile. She then broke the hug and hurried out to the hall to collect her escort from the Danish embassy.

* * *

The next day James was relieved to be back at the British embassy, no worse the wear from the attack at the Danish embassy and happy to flop down on a regular bed. It would be good to have real food too. Apparently meals in wizard hospitals were no better than their Muggle counterparts and the rumor was Muggle hospital food tasted like dragon dung. It was close to lunch so James had one of the house elves bring him a steaming bowl of lobster bisque and a toasted cheese sandwich. As he sat to take the first bite of his sandwich, James heard a knock at his door.

"Come in. It's open."

"I hope you dinna get too comfortable, lad," his Mum said, "but we've got to go back to Gossamer Boulevard, whether you were wanting to or not. We've received a letter from Ilvermorny; it looks like there are some special mediwizard textbooks that are different from anything Hogwarts would be having you buy."

James let out a small laugh. "I was looking forward to another trip there my whole time in the hospital and we can leave as soon as I can eat my lunch. Too bad Tora won't be able to come with us."

"And what's making you say that?"

"'Tis a bit of short notice here, Mum. There won't be time for her to arrange a body guard escort."

"You leave that to me. I'll make the arrangements for her to come while you eat."

"Mum, did you really mean what you said to Tora yesterday?"

"Yes James. I do like her very much. You could use a girl with a little spuink and sass to her."

"Is that what you told Da, when he was courting you?" James said with a grin.

"Hush, you!" Olivia replied. James could see his Mum's eyes sparkle with amusement.

James watched his mother exit the room before returning to his lunch. This was nothing how he expected his time in America to be going, and he hadn't even started his sixth year of school. Yet it had hardly been unpleasant. But how would things work out between him and Tora at Ilvermorny? There were clearly many things the two of them would need to talk about. It would be good if his Mum could arrange for Torar to come with them today but James wasn't going to hold his breath. If being around his Da had taught him anything, James knew it was that diplomatic channels were never swift at the best of times. Their pace would be glacial with all the extra security precautions in place. Still, if anyone could grease the wheels, it would be his Mum. She could be a force of nature whenever she felt she was on a mission and woe to those who thought they could stop her. Finishing his last bite of sandwich, James somehow knew he'd need to freshen up before meeting with his Mum. He couldn't shake the feeling that Tora would be joining them for shopping.

Olivia had worked her magic while James was eating; an amused Tora was sitting patiently in the Floo study waiting for the McCreas. Griffin was also waiting in the room but she was standing and on alert.

"I hope you did not have to rush your lunch, James," Tora said.

"Don't worry, I never rush lunch."

"Now that's a lie or your Da and I would have heard about you being late for classes because you dawdled in the Great Hall of Hogwarts at meal time." Both teens looked to see James's mother had joined them. "I see you're ready for us to go. Griffin will be accompanying us on today's trip so I expect you both to behave."

"Now how much trouble d'ya think we'll be getting into in a book store," James said with a chuckle.

"Trouble would follow you around daily, I would think," Tora said.

"Why would you think that?" James asked. He tried to sound hurt but only sounded amused.

"Because you have been in the thick of the action at the last two major diplomatic events. I almost expect you to start an international incident at this rate."

"Maybe you shouldn't have asked her along Mum," James said with a sulky tone. The women just laughed as final preparations for flooing to Devlin's Pub were made. He was still sulking when they got to Gossamer Boulevard, walking a step or two behind the ladies on their path to the bookstore. He was still new at this dating stuff, so he had no idea how to deal with Tora's teasing. It's not like friends at school hadn't teased him, but receiving it from peers in his dorm was quite different from getting teased by someone who had won his heart. Lost in his funk, James didn't see the knowing glance his Mum had given him. She whispered something to Tora who paused until James had drawn even with her, then matched his pace along the sidewalk.

"I am sorry my teasing hurt your feelings. It was something I would always do to my brothers and cousins and my best friend. I did not think you would take it differently." She slipped her hand in his as an apology.

The scowl on James's face slowly turned to a smile before the group had passed another block. "It's my fault Tora. I'm rubbish at this dating stuff. I had blokes at school tease me much worse without so much as a blink but you said something that's pretty close to the truth and I threw a snit like a toddler."

"I am no expert on this either. My Grandfather would scare off most of the young men I might consider dating and most of the ones he didn't scare away I wouldn't touch with a halberd."

"So where do we go from here?"

"To Scrivner and Binders?" Tora said with a deadpan tone.

"I meant us," James said with a smirk.

"Does being in love mean we cannot also be friends?"

"'Tis not mutually exclusive to be both," James replied, "and I think I would like that." He squeezed Tora's hand and gave her his best smile.

"Then be warned that I will tease my friends." She leaned in to his ear and whispered, "and I am extra merciless towards my best friend."

"You'll be warning me when I reach best friend status?"

"Maybe," she said coyly.

James shook his head with a chuckle, glad to have Tora in his life. Things might get bumpy, but they would be okay together. The rest of the walk was in silence, the memories of the two attacks weighing heavily on the small group, either lost in their thoughts or hyper vigilant of their surroundings. Talk of the attack on the British Embassy had wanted quickly after a week. The attack on James was never even in the newspaper; it was brushed off as a drunken scuffle at a party, one of hundreds that had happened across the city that night. So the American wizards were going about their business totally unconcerned about recent events, not caring that the foreign visitors in their midst were on a knife edge, waiting to see what the next incident would be. James began to loathe the local laws regarding underage wizards; he was left defenseless with the possibility he was a target. Or worse, Tora was a target and he had no way to protect her. These dour thoughts were threatening to ruin James's mood for the rest of the walk when they reached the main entrance to the enormous bookstore. Scrivner and Binders looked like it would have easily held twenty of Flourish and Blotts.

"We're going to need a map to find anything in this place," James said.

"Or we can ask a clerk," his Mum chimed in. "Never be afraid of doing things the old fashioned way."

The directory in the lobby said medical textbooks would be on the eighth floor, so the party made their way to the nearest lift and headed up. The shelves were piled with titles James had never imagined and they were in languages he had never heard. Most of the books he and Tora needed for school were relatively easy to find; however, there was one title that was no where to be found. James approached the clerk on this floor and discovered that particular title was on the tenth floor, in the department named "The Other Half". There was a short debate about taking the stairs if they only had to go up two floors but Auror Griffin squashed that idea, saying the lift would be easier to protect. So the little group made their way to the lift and queued for the trip upstairs.

When the lift doors opened on the tenth floor, James felt a strange sensation, as if someone had sucked all the magic out of his life. He glanced around the sales floor; nothing was visually amiss but something still seemed off. Then it hit him. All the books on this section were Muggle books. James noticed a fiction section and saw many titles his Muggle cousins and friends had mentioned over the years. It was surreal to not see a single magical title on any of the dozens of shelves. They would need help finding the last book for school though; there didn't seem to be as much organization as there was on the previous floor. It took a while for the small group to find the clerk for this floor.

"Excuse me," James said, "can you help us find this book?" He showed the list to the clerk and pointed to the final title.

"Gray's Anatomy?" the clerk said. "You must be getting ready to start the Mediwizard program, eh?"

"We both are," James said with a nod.

"What is so special about this Muggle book?" Tora asked the clerk.

"It might be written by a No-Maj," the clerk said, "but it's still one of the best textbooks about the human body ever written. The old No-Maj doctors several centuries ago did more of the grave robbing ancient Mediwizards have always been accused of and were meticulous in recording what they saw in all the cadavers. Not sure why they haven't come up with a magical edition though, or a magical equivalent."

"Is that why this department is called 'The Other Half'? Because it's all Muggle, er, No-Maj books?" Olivia asked.

"Yup," said the clerk. "Helps our bottom line to stock the more popular titles. That way wizards and witches can get their No-Maj fix without actually going out to a No-Maj book store. A lot of the local magical folks stay as far away as possible from No-Majs on account of how violent some of the No-Majs can get."

"Violent?" Olivia said in shock.

"Yeah, with all that stuff the Second Salem group has been doing over the years, I'm surprised they haven't tried to bring back burning at the stake."

"We'll be sure to keep that in mind if we venture out into the No-Maj part of city," James said.

They paid for their books and, a few dozen dragots lighter, went looking for a place to have an early tea. Griffin had suggested going back to Devlin's for refreshment but Mrs. McCrea dismissed the idea, insisting that a special trip required a special place to sit down and relax. Olivia noticed a small bistro not far from the book store and Griffin nodded in approval; it was a place she had been herself when off duty. Although the weather was still warm from late summer, the Auror insisted they get a table inside rather than one by the street. A waiter quickly took their orders and it was time for idle chit-chat.

"So Tora," Olivia started, "how are things going to work with getting to this Ilvermorny? I don't suppose all the students take a train up to this Mt. Greylock?"

"Not exactly Mrs. McCrea. The Muggles have recently built a commemorative tower at what they see as the summit. There are now enough tourists present to make things a bit difficult for large groups of wizards, not to mention there are students are coming from all across America and Canada. We will be taking a train up to the town of Pittsfield in Massachusetts. From an abandoned building near the train station the school has set up a series of portkeys to go back and forth to the front gate, inside all the Muggle repellent charms."

"Sounds like shrinking your luggage would be a helpful thing, eh James?" Mrs. McCrea said.

"Too bad Dumbledore didn't cover that in Transfiguration this year. That's a NEWT level spell."

"Not a problem lad. I can do the spell and you'll just need to use _Finite Incantatum_ when you get to your dorm room."

"James will still need a small backpack or travel satchel to carry one of his school robes and anything he would like or need on the train ride." Tora said.

"I have one of those Mum, so I'll be fine there." James chimed. "Say Tora, what's the policy on animals at Ilvermorny?"

"Cats and owls are allowed along with a few other magical beasts. The Americans frown on toads or reptiles though, if I remember."

"You'll be wanting to take Victoria then James?"

"Aye, Mum. Having Vicky will make the post a bit easier, although I suppose I can use a school owl in a pinch."

"Victoria will be fine with you, laddie. The embassy has more than a few owls for official use so she'll get no exercise if she stays with us."

"Sounds like all that's left is the packing then," James said with a pleased smile.

"Twas a brilliant day all around then," Olivia said. For the hundredth time in the past month she could not help but think on how much her son had grown up, how ready he was to be a man and a wizard. They would see James for the holidays between terms, but she could not help feeling her son was going to be flying the nest sooner than later. The waiter brought their order, breaking Mrs. McCrea's reverie. She looked at James and Tora engaged in small talk and smiled at the thought there might be a wedding to plan for in the near future.

* * *

The day for start of term went extremely smoothly, from the Ministry automobile to the Muggle's Penn Station to boarding. They had a separate magical platform here, same as at King's Cross in London, but MACUSA had found it was easier to list the train as a chartered special in the Muggle railway system, to help with scheduling, even though the engine and cars were as enchanted as the Hogwarts express. The turnstile to the platform was also enchanted, allowing only those witches and wizards who had the proper ticket for boarding. Chatting with other students in the queue, James found out that New York was actually the final stop for the train before it ran to Pittsfield. It had spent the previous week collecting the students from the western coast of the country and points in between. Additional cars were added here in New York for the students boarding in the North eastern region. A separate train would be reaching Pittsfield from Canada today as well, coming down from Montreal and through Vermont.

Once boarded, Tora found some of her friends from school and James received many introductions while the students loaded up their things in the various carriages. Transfers were actually fairly common at Ilvermorny, especially as MACUSA had normalized relations with greater numbers of wizarding communities across the globe. Kenji Hinata was from Japan, a fourth year who had transferred last fall, and whose father was the Japanese magical Ambassador and Mario Zabini was a new transfer from Italy, here for his fifth year. Both his parents were high ranking embassy officials but neither was the actual Italian Ambassador. One other transfer James met was Gabrielle Delune. She was here from France but James only got a brief introduction as she hurried down the aisle of the passenger car in search of God knew what.

There were also American friends who were in the same house as Tora. Claire Madden was a fellow sixth year from Sarasota, Florida, who was studying to be a magizoologist. Apparently that Scamander chap had made quite an impression on the young wizards of America. Then there was Josh Scobie from Nebraska, a seventh year looking to get into the Auror program. The last person James met before the train pulled out of the station was Joyce Freemont, a native New Yorker and another sixth year who was hoping to become a potions master after graduation. She hurriedly stowed her bag as the train began to slowly pull away from the platform.

"Wow, it gets harder every year to get to the station on time," Joyce complained.

"Is that because there are more children going to Ilvermorny every year?" James asked.

"Nah, more likely because of all the No-Maj in the city. Swarming like insects and breeding like rabbits," Josh teased.

"Shut it Scobie," Claire said, "you can at least wait until we get to school before busting everyone's chops."

"Where's the fun in that?" Josh said.

"Hah! You American girls have such passion and spirit," Mario said, looking directly at Claire. "I think I am in love, mi amore."

"Love at first sight?" Claire scoffed. "That's a bit of a stereotype, isn't it?"

"You make it sound like I am going to be falling in love with every girl at this school we are going to." Mario said with mock indignation.

"I was on vacation in Italy with my parents this summer, buster. Every little boy over there was drooling over me as if I were some piece of meat to win at a carnival."

"You wound me, mi amore. I am not like those peasant boys that were following you around over the summer. I have much more self-respect and respect for my true love than that."

"Can you believe this guy Kenji," Josh said.

"He is quite sure of himself, Josh-san," Kenji said. "Maybe too sure?"

"I think he's all talk," Joyce said. "What do you think Tora?"

"I must agree, but it doesn't bother me one way or the other."

"Did you meet someone over the summer?" Claire asked with a squeal. "Summer romances are always fun!" Tora said nothing but blushed and smiled.

"You did! Start dishing details!" Joyce demanded.

"It was someone I met at a couple of the big diplomatic parties at the Danish Embassy and some of the others," Tora said. Her friends could tell she was holding back information, although Tora had a magnificent poker face. She gave no indication that James was the object of the discussion.

"Really? So when did you meet him for the first time?" Claire asked.

"I first met him at the welcoming ball for the new English Ambassador," Tora stated calmly.

"So he's English?" Joyce asked.

"I think he made it very clear he was not an Englishman," Tora said with a smirk. James found it difficult not to snort with laughter; being a Scot he was definitely not an Englishman. He had not met Kenji or Mario, or Gabrielle for that matter, at that first ball, so James was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to give him away, but he didn't remember if any of those three had been at the Danish Royal Birthday celebration.

"What was he like?" asked Joyce.

"Well, I didn't get to talk very much with him that first time," Tora said. "The ball was attacked by what appeared to be Bulgarian terrorists before we could connect."

"I remember my parents saying something about that when they got home that night," Mario said.

"So when did you see him again?" Kenji asked. It was surprising for a boy to be interested in girl's gossip, but Tora was doing a masterful job of storytelling, drawing her audience into the tale.

"At the Danish Royal Birthday celebration the following week, although by pure luck I had run into him and his mother at the robe shops on Gossamer Boulevard between the two parties."

"Aw, that sounds sweet," Joyce said. "Was his Mom nice?"

"She was an absolutely powerful, energetic, and friendly witch. I am very glad she seemed to like me."

"Yeah, yeah," said Claire, "let's get back to the birthday ball. Did you kiss him there? Did you dance with him? A girl's gotta know!"

Tora giggled at her impatient friend. "He was a magnificent dancer and I'd have to say a pretty good kisser. Although it was hard to sneak a kiss when my Grandfather was watching me like a hawk."

"Ah yes," Kenji said, "the old, scary wizard stomping around the party with a glass of vodka in one hand."

"I'll second that description," James said. "That old bloke had me very worried he'd curse me right then and there."

"Why would that old goat want to curse you?" Mario asked. "I though Tora said he was only being over protective."

Joyce started glancing from Tora to me, looking like she was figuring out a puzzle. I had started to blush a little after Mario had spoken and realized the jig might be up. After a minute, Joyce smiled and spoke to Tora. "I thought you said he wasn't English?" She looked at me pointedly at that last word.

"Um, I'm not English," James said nervously.

"But you are the son of the English Ambassador, are you not?" Kenji asked.

"Yes, but I'm not English, I'm Scottish," James said sheepishly.

The six friends laughed at the unexpected punchline and James was happy that he and Tora weren't going to be a secret. He reached for her hand and she gave his a comforting squeeze. They looked at each other and smiled before turning back to their friends. James thought it was going to be a very good first term indeed.

* * *

After several hours, the train pulled into the station at Pittsfield and as they exited the train the students were ushered towards what James thought looked like an old abandoned factory or warehouse. The school staff needed such a large building; there were several queues snaking through the large interior space and at the end of each line was an adult witch or wizard handling the portkeys as they popped in and out of the space, with ten or twelve students hanging on for each outbound transit. Finally it was James's turn and he put a hand on the assigned portkey, which looked like a large serving platter. With students being transported by the dozen, a larger object made sense for use as a portkey. A few seconds later, after everyone's hand was touching, James felt the familiar pull at his navel and the group of students whooshed away. Uncounted moments later and they were landing just in front of a set large iron gates, very similar to Hogwarts. Another staff member took the portkey from them and directed the students to move out of the way to allow then next group room to land.

James followed the other people from his group through the gate and up towards the main building on the campus. It was clearly not a castle and looked more like a collection of additions that were made over time to the original cottage or cabin. Other buildings had been added that were most likely classrooms, each building probably hosting a single magical discipline. As James neared the central building, he heard yet another staffer instructing the first years and any new transfer students to follow the red marked path to the main hall for their sorting. James began following the steady stream of eleven year olds and was glad that Mario was soon walking with him with Gabrielle not far behind. If he couldn't be walking with Tora he felt better walking with friends. Soon the large group arrived at the designated place where a very stern looking wizard was waiting. James noticed a crowded balcony where the older students seemed to be congregating and arrayed in front of him were all the newest students, but it was not until the last of the stragglers arrived that the wizard spoke.

"Good evening boys and girls. I am Professor Balto Janus and I am the Deputy Head Master of Ilvermorny. We will soon begin our sorting ceremony." The youngsters murmured with excitement at that announcement. James was not as excited as the sea of eleven year olds but their enthusiasm was infectious. The older wizard continued. "You will enter the individually and stand on the Gordian Knot symbol in the center of the floor. It is there that the totems for each house will judge you and whichever totem selects you will be your house. If you are fortunate to have more than one totem express interest, you will have the option to choose which house you will be in." He paused to make sure the youngsters understood what he had said.

"The totems for the four houses area as follows. They are Horned Serpent, Thunderbird, Wampus, and Puckwudgie. Each house represents a different aspect of the witch or wizard. Horned Serpent is said to represent the Mind of a wizard. This house favors the scholars among you. Thunderbird represents the Soul of a wizard. The adventurers out there might just find yourself here. Puckwudgie represents the Heart of a wizard and many a healer has come out of this house. Finally, there is Wampus, which represents the Body of a wizard, and is where you might be if you are a warrior. Again, the totems will examine you thoroughly and the one that finds you the best match will give its sign. If more than one house believes you belong, then you may choose which house is a better fit for you."

"Before we sort our first years, I would like any new transfer students to come forward." James looked around and saw that besides Mario, Gabrielle, and himself, there were a handful of other transfers waiting. The older wizard began to call out names alphabetically, with each student stepping onto the large complex design in the large hallway. Soon it was James's turn and he strode purposefully to the center of the design and faced the Horned Serpent totem. _Once a Snake, always a snake,_ he thought. A few minutes passed before any of the totems reacted. The jewel on the head of the Horned Serpent lit up. _No surprise there,_ James thought. He was about to move when he heard the Wampus growl loud and deep like a gigantic house cat. Before he could react, the Thunderbird flapped its wings and then he heard the crowd behind him and in the balcony gasp collectively. James turned around and saw that the Puckwudgie statue had raised the arrow it was holding. Confused, James looked the Deputy Head Master for guidance.

"My Lord. This is quite the rarity!" the older wizard exclaimed.

"How so?" James asked, still not understanding the significance of the event.

"While it is not unheard of for all four houses to react and show interest in a young witch or wizard, it is a rare sight indeed and has not happened in my tenure here at Ilvermorny."

"When did it happen last?"

"It is my understanding the last person this happened for was Seraphina Picquery, who is currently our illustrious MACUSA Secretary of state and a former President of that organization. I am certain this means we can expect great things from you while you are at Ilvermorny, Mr. McCrea. But now you must take on the task of selecting which of these four houses you will be sorted into. Choose carefully young man, because once made the choice cannot be undone."

James looked down at the ground in thought and closed his eyes in meditation, the better to search out what part of him signaled his path: his Heart, Mind, Body, or Soul. He stayed that way thinking for a few moments before the answer came to him. He remembered that professor Janus had said healers are defined by their heart and since James wanted nothing more than to be a Mediwizard there was only one house he could pick.

"Puckwudgie," he said slowly and clearly. "I choose Puckwudgie."

* * *

 **Author'snotes:** Once again, changing Seraphina's title/office within MACUSA.


	5. Chapter 5

Characters and locations from the world of Harry Potter are the property of J. K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

 **Chapter 5 - Of Class and Classes**

James waited until the rest of the new students were sorted in order to follow his fellow Puckwudgies to the dormitories. He noticed that, unlike Hogwarts, neither his robes nor his tie had changed color; they remained the same blue and cranberry and the clasp holding the robes closed was still a Gordian knot, a miniature copy of the one on the floor of the sorting hall. It would not be until James could see in a mirror much later that he would notice the difference: two small Puckwudgie symbols on each tab of the robe's collar and subtle piping of the house color around that collar. It would seem that house differences were not flaunted at Ilvermorny.

Scanning the crowd, James was hoping to catch a glimpse of Tora or another of his new friends. During the whole train ride up here, he had not think to ask what house everyone else was in. Mario had also been selected by Puckwudgie while Gabrielle had to choose between two houses and ultimately selected Thunderbird.

"Anyone know if they have a welcoming feast?" James called out to the students milling on the balcony.

"Of course," a familiar voice called out. James looked up to see Tora waving down. "The stairs are just through the double doors. The dining hall is on this level."

Moving a quickly as possible with the crowd climbing the stairs, James was glad to see Tora had waited for him. It was then he noticed the same Puckwudgie symbols on the collar of her robes.

"Did you have to choose too?" James asked.

"No, only Puckwudgie was interested in me when I was sorted," Tora said. "It makes sense now that I am preparing to be a Mediwizard."

"Aye, 'tis why I selected it. It felt the right place to be with a future as a healer."

Walking hand in hand, the young couple made their way into the dining hall, which was every bit as impressive as the Great Hall at Hogwarts. But James saw many smaller tables set up throughout the room rather than four large tables for the separate houses. There was no forced separation of the houses of Ilvermorny so friends could sit together regardless of which house they were in, another striking difference compared to Hogwarts. But that did allow all the friends James had met on the train to sit together. When the throng of students had finished filing in, the headmistress , Professor Adelaide Two-leaf, stood up for her welcoming remarks.

"Good evening everyone, both newcomers and veterans. The staff and I hope this will be a wonderful school year for you all, especially this year's crop of transfers. I will have more mundane administrative announcements after our dinner, but for now, let the feast begin."

She clapped her hands much like James had seen Professor Dippet do at the Hogwarts welcoming feasts and as at the British school, the plates filled to excess with sumptuous dishes from across the United States. There were the typical roast meats, such as beef and turkey, but there were also many local delicacies, such as barbecued spare ribs and collard greens. There were mounds of mashed potatoes and of mashed turnips and platters of corn still on the cob. There were biscuits and rolls and sliced breads of all descriptions. This was clearly the equal of any feast James had eaten at Hogwarts and might possibly be better, if only for the great number of new and exotic foods. The quality and quantity continued into dessert, with pies and cakes and cookies appearing, stacked in a mountain at the center of each round table. James was particularly pleased with the pecan pie, a favorite for the young witches and wizards from the Southern region of the States. Finally, when it appeared the students could eat no more, the headmistress clapped her hands again and the tables were as clean and empty as at the start of the feast, with the exception of tea and coffee carriages and small containers of sugar and cream.

While he was fixing himself a cup of tea, James saw a young witch enter the hall and speak to Prof. Two-leaf in hushed secretive tones. A look of concern clouded the headmistress's face as she nodded an acknowledgement to the staffer, who immediately scurried away like a small nervous animal. The headmistress then rose and made her way to a podium in front of the head table where the faculty had been dining. She heaved a long sigh to compose herself before speaking. James could sense this would be a more serious talk than the usual beginning of the year announcements.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have received some very grave news. This may sound like it will only affect some of the exchange students and transfers, but I assure you this will eventually affect all citizens of every country around the globe." She took another deep breath before continuing. "I have been informed that the No-Maj armies of the German Reich have invaded Poland. In response to that violation of Polish sovereignty, the No-Maj governments of England and France have declared war on Germany. It looks like the non-magical world has descended into another world war. Let us hope it remains contained to the European continent as it was over twenty years ago. In light of this serious and disturbing news, I will have each head of house post written copies of the opening remarks and announcements I had previously been prepared to deliver. You may make your way to the dormitories and may we all give a prayer for those who have perished in this opening battle overseas."

The students sat in stunned silence for a few moments before the first tables began to leave and a hushed murmur could be heard in the halls beyond the exit doors. Almost half of the group of friends sitting at their table were from Europe; Gabrielle and Tora had particularly worried looks, as their countries were now at war or might soon be. Joyce and Claire gave each of them a hug in an attempt to reassure the two transfer students. James and Mario gave each other a grim look. While they would all be insulated to a degree at Ilvermorny, they all knew things had gotten much more difficult for their families back home. James's father would certainly have a harder job come morning and both he and Mario realized, as the children of diplomats or embassy staffers, things could get infinitely worse. Italy was, in the Muggle world at least, an ally of Germany. James's Da hadn't received any intelligence on Italian wizards helping the Muggle government in Rome, but he wouldn't be able to rule it out. When the Great War began twenty-five years ago, the International wizarding community had decided not to interfere, but they had left it up to individual wizards to choose whether to aid their home governments in their respective No-Maj armies. Who knew how the wizarding world would react this time? Some of the No-Maj leaders in Europe, such as the German Chancellor, looked to be ruthless dictators. They would be the type of men with no compunction about forcing their local wizard populations into helping the Fascist Muggle's causes. There might even be wizards that would gladly and willingly aid one of these Fascist dictators. Tonight's news would not make for a good night's sleep.

* * *

Tora led James to the Puckwudgie common room in silence. Denmark bordered Germany, so she was certainly lost in thought and worried if her home country would be next after the Third Reich had finished with Poland. James could sense she was not in a talking mood and did everything he could to reassure her, but he was not able to convince her to break the silence. Soon they were at the door to their house common room; if Tora had not been so melancholy James might have enjoyed the walk. He would not notice until morning how the grounds and buildings of Ilvermorny were not designed as a whole but showed signs of additions being continuously constructed to meet the growing and changing needs of the school. As it was, James had no idea how anyone would enter the room beyond; there was no doorknob and no one had mentioned a password. He became dismayed when Tora let go of his hand, but saw it was to begin some sort of ritual to gain entrance. She grasped her wand and tapped what seemed to James as random points on the door. It would only be on closer inspection that James would see the exact points she had touched formed a heart around a picture of the house totem.

The door opened and James followed Tora into the warmth of the common room. There was a lot of wooden furniture that James thought was cherry and a pale green accent painted on the walls. _Still wearing green_ , James thought. He was surprised that green piping didn't appear more obvious on his robes after being sorted, but that subtlety seemed to follow Ilvermorny's code of not flaunting and strictly segregating the houses as Hogwarts had. All the students in Puckwudgie were milling in the common room waiting for a faculty member to speak.

"Head of house?" James asked Tora in a whisper. Tora gave a quick nod but stayed focused on the adult witch.

"Okay, settle down students," the witch said. "For those of you who are new, my name is Professor Deborah Dram. I am the Potions Master at Ilvermorny and your head of house. Quidditch tryouts will be held in two weeks and final cuts for varsity and junior varsity teams will be announced the following week. We are expecting more No-Maj activity than usual over the next several weeks as the leaves change colors. The stone tower the Massachusetts No-Maj government has built is an absolute magnet for non-magical folk." Prof. Dram looked around the room before continuing. "Needless to say, students should stay away from the wards and charms surrounding the school else the No-Maj's discover us. Finally, I will be passing out your class schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast, so please arrive promptly. Oh, before I forget. Would all the transfer and exchange students please see me after these announcements are finished? I have some additional news to pass on to you from the headmistress."

James looked around the common room as the rest of the students began to clear out and head to their dormitories. Tora stayed near him but gave a quick wave to Claire and Joyce as they headed to bed. Mario moved towards Prof. Dram along with a few younger students James hadn't met on the train or at the feast. James looked around for Gabrielle but a few moments later remembered she had been sorted in Thunderbird. Ten minutes later the room was totally clear except for the handful of foreign students and their head of house.

"This will be difficult for all of you here while the No-Maj armies are marching across Europe," the elder witch began. "However your respective countries are aligned in the non-magical world, you would all do well to remember that you have no enemies here within the walls of Ilvermorny. Secretary of State Picquery has made it clear that no matter what happens between the No-Maj governments of Europe, you will be welcome here in the United States as exiles and refugees."

"Is that truly what will happen?" asked Mario. "Or will I be ripped from Transfiguration one day and portkeyed back to Rome because of the Muggle government of that damned Il Duce?"

"You will not be forcibly removed from here Mr Zabini if the Headmistress has the last word. You are here to learn and nothing will interfere with that. And nothing Italy's No-Maj government can do will change your status here in the magical world. After the last World War, I doubt there is anyone under the delusion it will be over in a few months. If the No-Majs do anything particularly well it's wage war and they've yet to have a short one."

James looked at his Head of House and saw a mixed look of resignation and determination. He had to wonder if she had participated in the Great War, although she didn't look quite old enough to have been involved. Maybe an older brother had gone overseas to fight? In either case, the witch was not under any delusions that the war would be anything but devastating.

"It sounds like we'll be needed as soon as possible then," Tora said softly.

"Yes Miss Svendotter," Dram replied, "we'll likely be needing more mediwizards than we can graduate. And those of you that do graduate will more than likely be marching straight to hell in either the No-Maj army or a magical army."

Two second year transfer students blanched at that thought; it didn't occur to them that the war would have to last close to a decade for it to still be going on when they graduated from Ilvermorny. Professor Dram was right though. It would be Tora and James and the other mediwizard students would be graduating into a very dangerous world. The war could easily still be going on after only two years and healers would certainly be needed.

"Alright. Off to bed now children." The elder witch gave a curt nod as she dismissed the final group of students. James hung back a moment, eager to ask the Professor a question.

"Were you in the Great War, Professor? You spoke with the seriousness of someone who's seen war firsthand."

"No Mr. McCrea, although I did volunteer here on the home front. My brother was killed at Belleau Woods. His Marine platoon was cut to pieces by German machine gun nests and the crossfire was so vicious they almost didn't recover the bodies. They buried John in one of the big military cemeteries over there in France, not that there was enough of him left to ship home for a funeral. So as you have so keenly observed, I am no fan of armed conflict."

"I'm sorry for your loss Professor, especially such a tragic and senseless one. I'm sure your government sent your parents a letter saying he died a hero and may have even presented them with a posthumous medal, but that still doesn't excuse the fact he was cut down in his prime and will never be replaced. That's one of the biggest reasons I wanted to become a mediwizard Professor, so that people would not have to die before their time."

"That's a very mature outlook for someone who's only sixteen. Most teenage boys would be seduced by the supposed glory of war and rush to enlist, even going so far as to fake how old they truly were if the patriotic fervor was thick enough. Well, enough talk of such a dour subject. Off to bed James, you particularly have a very early and very busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Professor. I'll see you at breakfast." James turned and walked to the boy's dormitory to attempt some sleep but he knew it was going to be a rough night. His short talk with the Potions Master had left him much to ponder.

* * *

It was as rough a night as James had expected. The only saving grace was that James was already awake as the sun slowly rose and shown through the dormitory window. Remembering the warning from Professor Dram, he showered, dressed, and made his way down to the dining hall. Surprisingly, he was not the only student from his house up at that hour. A pair of third years were hurrying out the common room door dressed in athletic wear, followed closely by a trio of seventh years similarly clad. Moving silently through the hallways, James strode to a table in the middle of the dining hall. He was glad to see the clusters of circular tables weren't just for the welcoming feast; the Headmistress and staff really did want the houses to intermingle. He sat down and ordered eggs, bacon, and a glass of fresh apple cider, having heard his American friends rave about this wonderful seasonal drink.

"You should try the bagels."

James looked up to see Tora sitting down next to him. "Bagel?"

"Yes. It's a wonderful round piece of heavenly bread. Remember to have the house elves toast them though, it makes them even better that way."

"And slathered in marmalade, I suppose?"

"Cream cheese, actually," Tora said with a chuckle. "I'm surprised you didn't wait for me in the common room."

"Sorry Tora, I was up way before the sun. I hate to admit it, but I really didn't sleep well. I hope I can stay awake during classes today."

"The two of you have the same classes, so Miss Svendotter should be able to share her notes if you doze off." The voice belonged to their head of house and she placed a long roll of parchment next to each of them. "I suggest that you do not doze off in my class Mr. McCrea; there are too many dangerous things in the ingredients cupboard to not be paying attention."

"Understood Professor, although it looks like we don't have Potions until after lunch," James said after quickly scanning the parchment.

"Then it is your good luck the school house elves keep pots of fresh coffee and tea available between meals, for just this occasion," the Potions Master said.

James gave a small chuckle and a nod to Professor Dram before returning his attention to his class schedule. It had many similarities to his class schedules at Hogwarts but it also had glaring differences. Many of the classes, although familiar subjects, were heavily focused on the healing arts.

"First up is Charms for Mediwizards?" James asked. "They have that many to have a separate class?"

"I think we will both be surprised, James," Tora replied. "I have a feeling we will be dealing with an unimaginable intensity to our studies. Many lives will be in our hands when we graduate."

"I guess it's too late to change my mind about my career choice?"

"No James, it is not, but I believe you will be unhappy if you do not become a Mediwizard."

"You're probably right, love," James said. "Now, if you're done with breakfast, could you please show me where the charms classroom is? I'd hate to be late on my first day."

They each finished a few last bites of their meal before heading back to the dorms to collect their books. James had left his in room because he had been awake at such an ungodly hour; Tora was used to the bustle of Ilvermorny and knew there would be time to get only the books they needed for the morning classes. It felt good to stroll the halls hand in hand and James had a very contented smile on his face. It was still early enough that many students were just beginning to rise and make their way down to the dining hall. It felt like nothing could shake his good mood when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye near the hallway leading to the dormitories for Wampus house, a familiar shock of hair disappeared around a corner.

Anger flashed in James's eyes. If it really was the same person, the last time he had seen that hair was a men's water closet at the Danish embassy. Shaking his hand free from Tora's, James put on a short burst of speed to reach the spot where the dark haired phantom had disappeared. He rounded that same corner and skidded to a stop in a deserted hall. Were they close enough to the common room entrance for his quarry to have gone to ground? James shook his head. If the boy did run and hide, that would mean he had seen and recognized James, which seemed unlikely if James himself wasn't sure he had actually seen the young man. He had to admit his mind could be playing tricks on him, but he doubted it. That level of pain and trauma had a way of burning its memory into your soul.

"What is the matter, James? Why did you run off like that?"

"I thought I saw one."

"One what?"

"Who you mean. I think I saw one of the sassenachs that put me in hospital, but he's gone now."

"Are you sure?"

"No, not really. I only got a quick glimpse and only saw his hair. Then he disappeared in this corridor. Those three thugs and their leader are people I'll not be likely to forget."

* * *

James and Tora turned and headed back down the corridor toward their own dormitory; they still needed their books for the first classes of the day. They were long gone before the shaggy black mop of hair dared peek out of a broom closet in the hall. Edvard Kaiser looked with barely concealed joy that the coast was clear. He was a last minute seventh year returnee to Ilvermorny, as his father was originally scheduled to have his diplomatic posting rotated to France from the United States, but the beginning of the Muggle war changed those plans. His father, a senior functionary under the Danish Ambassador, was ordered to remain here to prepare for the possibility of the Danish Magical government needing to rule in absentia if the Muggle armies overran Denmark.

He certainly did not expect to see the young British from the birthday celebration. He thought he and his friends had chased him back to London, yet here he was also a student at Ilvermorny. He didn't think the other boy had seen him, but his instincts proved correct, getting the closet door shut mere moments before the lad had skidded around the corner and into this hallway leading to the Wampus common room. It took all his self-control to not gasp in surprise when he heard this James fellow ranting about the attack, confirming that he had seen Edvard and that he remembered him. And it also confirmed that James had ignored the warning Edvard's group had given him about seeing Tora. It was going to be a long school year and it would be near impossible to avoid the English brat for that whole time. At least, since he was taking the NEWT load for a curse breaker, he was not going to be in the same classes as James.

* * *

Despite the short detour, Tora and James made it to Charms with time to spare and had the luxury of finding a pair of open seats together about half way back from the teacher's desk. They each set up parchment, quills and ink for taking notes and waited for the rest of the class and the professor. All told, there were about a dozen other sixth years taking seats and they looked evenly divided between all the houses. Finally, a serious looking wizard swept in and with a flourish of his wand caused his name and the class title to appear on the chalkboard.

"Good morning class. I am Professor Erskine Foley and this is Advanced Charms for Mediwizards. Prior to my posting here at Ilvermorny, I was a Surgical Wizard at St Benedict's Hospital in Boston, specializing in trauma inflicted by magical beasts, so believe me when I say I have more than a theoretical knowledge of the subject."

The students were suitably impressed and it seemed to James that the Professor's tone was purely matter of fact and not bragging.

"For this first class, let's start by seeing who has a few basics down." A pair of girls in the front began to fidget nervously. "Who can name a standard Charm that might prove useful in surgery?"

James immediately raised his hand and waited for the Professor to acknowledge him.

"Ah yes, Mr. McCrea is it?"

"Yes Sir. _Vulnera Sanentur_ would be useful during a surgical procedure or to treat shallow wounds."

"Very good. Two points to Puckwudgie. _Vulnera Sanentur_ or the wound closing charm is indeed very useful during surgery to stop bleeding from incisions and while it is most effective on shallower cuts and wounds it will work on deeper gashes, although you will need to work longer at closing the wound with that one. What else?"

One of the girls in the front row raised her hand, the ice broken with James's answer. Professor Foley nodded at her and she responded with _Diffindo._

"Ah yes, the cutting charm. Useful for making incisions during surgery and for cutting and removing clothing from a grievously injured patient. Two points to Thunderbird."

The question and answer session kept up for another ten minutes before the Professor got down to the heart of the lecture. There were several charms that were specific to medicine in general and surgery in specific, but a lot of charms used in Mediwizardry were adapted or repurposed from the arsenal of common charms a witch or wizard would normally encounter in everyday life. If the rest of the year were like this, then James would definitely be enjoying this class. Soon the bell rang and it was time to move to the next class, all of the students moving en masse from Charms to the Herbology greenhouses. It hit James that Mediwizard was such a rigorous specialty that there might not be crossovers from other programs. The fourteen witches and wizards in Charms would likely be the only students he would ever see in his classes.

* * *

James was surprised to see a handful of other students join them in Greenhouse number Six. Still less than what appeared to be a full classroom at Ilvermorny, but a mystery none the less until the Professor came sauntering in from another greenhouse.

"Ah, good morning class. My name is Professor Thaddeus Mulch and welcome to Herbology for Mediwizards and Pharmacy Potioneers. We will be spending this first term learning about the plants, both magical and mundane, that have medical properties and how to identify them in the wild. In second term we will delve closer into the dangerous plants and the proper way of handling them and what their effects and symptoms are. Always good to know what you're dealing with before you try and administer an antidote willy-nilly."

Tora had a skeptical look on her face when the professor had mentioned mundane plants would be looked at. James shook his head with a smile, suspecting they did not have any non-magical plants at the Danish Embassy. James knew better; there were very few gardens in England, Muggle or Magical, that didn't have at least a few mundane plants with healing properties. Even something as simple as mint could help with a minor ailment or two. The professor brought out a small fever bark sapling first and everyone began to pay closer attention. Brewing a tea from the bark was one of the oldest home remedies known, although the Muggles had taken to processing the bark much more vigorously. That bark extract could be found in tablets marked as aspirin in any mundane pharmacy in the United States.

"Now why would the No-Majs go through all that trouble when a simple tea would suffice?" the Professor asked.

One of the Pharmacy students raised her hand. "As a better way of controlling the dosage, Professor. Not all pieces of bark will have the same amount of active ingredient nor will each person brew the tea extract in the exact same way."

"Excellent! That is exactly correct." The Professor said. "Two points to Thunderbird."

"So is the Fever Reducing Philter the way we control dosage in the Magical world?" another Potioneer asked.

"Absolutely," Professor Mulch said. "We really do have the best of the best here in these advanced classes. Now we're not going to learn how to brew that potion in this class but you will all be able to find this plant in the wild and correctly harvest it. There will not always be a potions supply shop conveniently next door if you're posted in some rural area. Five points to Horned Serpent for some excellent reasoning."

The rest of the class was spent discussing the properties of the Fever bark tree in detail and the homework for next class was twelves inches of parchment with a full description of at least one other plant that had fever reducing properties with a bonus ten points if that plant was mundane. Most of the class groaned and James had to remind himself that this was a special intensive program in Mediwizardry; copious amounts of homework would be the norm not the exception.

* * *

"Good God. It's only lunch time and I feel like I've been awake for two days straight." Mario said as he sat down at the table with the rest of their clique. "The schools in Italy never gave out so much homework."

"Welcome to sixth year," said Claire.

"Ha, you mean welcome to Ilvermorny!" Joyce said. "This school has an international reputation for the most homework assigned, ever."

"Makes you question coming here, mate?" James said as he dropped into the seat across from Mario and prepared to tuck into a reuben with a side of cole slaw. The menu was quite different than Hogwarts and James was taking the chance to sample all of the local cuisine. Tora sat down to his right and ordered a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and began chatting with Claire.

Mario reflected a bit before replying. "No. Even if Muggles didn't start a war, I would rather be here than Roma. I really wasn't getting challenged by the schools there. Sono meglio qui, capire?"

"Yes, I know where you're coming from," James said. "I feel the same way about the mediwizard program."

"Is it just me, or are there a lot more transfer and exchange students this year?" Joyce asked the group.

"There might be, if there are a lot more kids of diplomats this year," said Claire, "they might have been worried about the war breaking out back home and decided to send them here."

"I know mi famiglia was very glad to get this posting back in the spring," Mario said.

"And I know my Da was ecstatic to get his posting as Ambassador, but I think that was more for the promotion than anything to do on the Continent," James said. "Being on an island is both a blessing and a curse. We didn't have as much of an idea what was going on with that Muggle Chancellor of Germany."

"The United States hasn't been any better," Joyce said. "The No-Maj government and MACUSA has both been shouting to stay out of what's going on in Europe. There are still a lot of people around that feel we should never have gotten involved in the Great War back in 1917 and are really digging in their heels about staying neutral this time around."

"Thank god we only need to worry about classes," Claire said.

"For now," Tora replied, bringing a silence over the table.

* * *

James and Tora made their way to the Potions classroom after the somber lunch, hoping their next class would chase the feeling away. Stepping through the doorway, James was surprised at how different this classroom was compared to the one at Hogwarts. There were windows going up to the ceiling and the tables were set up as squares rather than long benches. Along the wall opposite the Windows were shelves of ingredient bottles, neatly positioned and clearly labeled in easily read script, very unlike Professor Slughorn's scrawl. Besides the usual cauldron, James saw alembics, retorts, and calcinators along one of the shorter walls, giving rise to thoughts of alchemy but not why a mediwizard would need to dabble in that sketchy art. He picked a work table in the middle of the class and sat with a small shake of his head.

The stragglers were still milling about when Professor Dram flowed into the room, her cape flapping behind her like the wings of a bird. There were shorter work robes under the cape that were revealed as she hung it on coat rack in a corner near her desk. She said nothing initially but her stern look indicated she would brook no nonsense from the students. The stragglers quickly quieted down and found seats and when the Professor was satisfied everyone was paying attention she began.

"Good afternoon class. I am Professor Dram and I welcome you to advanced Potions for Mediwizards and Pharmacy Potioneers. I expect all of you to perform in here with the utmost seriousness. One wrong move could be fatal for you or a classmate." The pair of Thunderbirds from Charms looked at each other nervously again. James could only manage a small smirk before Professor Dram continued. "As many of you may have figured out, we will be focusing on potions that are used in the healing arts. They will range from simple potions like the Fever Reducing Philter to some very complex broad spectrum poison antidotes. In all cases you will pay extreme attention to safety. There will be no pranks or other horsing around in this classroom. If you try any of that nonsense and another student gets injured you will be expelled. Do I make myself clear?"

The entire class gave a collective gulp before nodding in the affirmative. They were all so close to their goals that none of them wanted to mess up. This was certainly a case of death being the least of their worries; being expelled at this point would be disastrous. They had passed their OWLs, so none of them would be getting their wand snapped if they did get booted, but they would never be mediwizards and witches if they did get kicked out.

"Very good. Now please open your textbooks to Chapter One. We will be starting with Essence of Murtlap today."

* * *

Two hours later, James and his classmates trudged out of Potions. Professor Dram was not kidding about being very meticulous. She made Slughorn look sloppy and he was anything but. Moving towards the general classrooms building, the group made their way to anatomy, the Potioneer students peeling off to head to their last classes. This was where that big Muggle book was going to be used and if the other classes today were any indication it would be heavily used.

The group finally arrived at one of the smaller classrooms. Again picking a seat in the middle, James slumped down, not sure how he would stay awake for this class. It was clearly more intense than what would have awaited him at Hogwarts for sixth year but James didn't regret the decision. It was just a bit overwhelming for the first day of school. Tora looked fairly frazzled too, so it wasn't only James feeling in over his head. In fact every one of the mediwizard students were looking exhausted from the previous classes. Maybe the Professor would take pity on them.

 _And dragons will wear tutus,_ James thought with a chuckle.

The humorous thought was banished as the Professor entered the classroom and made his way to the desk. James hadn't noticed earlier but there was a skeleton standing in the corner near the blackboard. He had grey hair and was starting to go bald. He looked at the class with a severe angular face that held a hint of humor with several laugh lines crinkling around the wizard's eyes. He also seemed taller and thinner than most of the other teachers here at Ilvermorny, almost as thin as the skeleton in the corner.

"Good afternoon class. I am Professor McDermid Tarsal and this is Human Anatomy. With the help of old Yorick here, we'll be starting by looking at the human skeleton." He made a quick waving motion at the display of bones by the blackboard. "Does anyone know how many individual bones are in the human skeleton?"

For once today the girls from Thunderbird weren't cowed by a question. They conferred quickly before the quieter one raised her hand. "Two hundred and six," she said.

"Very good Miss Claussen. Five points to Thunderbird," said the Professor. "Now, can any of you tell me which are the largest and which are the smallest bones in humans?" Tora's hand shot up and Professor Tarsal pointed at her.

"The femurs, or thigh bones, are the largest Professor."

"Excellent Miss Svendotter! Two points to Puckwudgie. Now what about the smallest?"

The class sat thinking for a few minutes before a tall boy in the back raised his hand. "The bones of the ears, Professor?"

"Yes. Quite right. There is debate as to which of the three is the absolute smallest, but the bones of the inner ear are indeed the smallest. Two points to Wampus."

There were a few more general questions about the human skeleton before Professor Tarsal launched into his lecture in earnest. There were many potions to heal or replace damaged or missing bones and some charms as well, but the mediwizard needed to know how they fit together, in case surgery was needed. And they needed to know what curses were out there that might block or interfere with the Potions and spells to heal bones. It was a lot of knowledge just on the skeleton and James was worried he wouldn't be able to keep track of everything once the teacher started adding other bodily systems into the learning mix.

* * *

"I have never been so tired on the first day of school," Mario complained. "My brain feels as if it is already finals week."

"This really wasn't that bad a first day," Claire said, "but I heard the Mediwizard program is insane for homework."

"Aye, this was certainly a busier first day than I ever had at Hogwarts," James said.

"Claire was right that the Mediwizard program has more homework, but this was not drastically worse than past years have been," Tora said.

"Today was so busy I think I'm almost too tired to eat dinner," Josh said.

"Ha. They have navy bean soup tonight," Clair laughed. "You are not missing that."

"Dang, you know me too well. I won't care what the entree is if I can fill up on soup."

The group laughed at Josh who joined in; it was his favorite soup. They made their way down to the dining hall, glad to have a chance to relax. There were a number of students exiting after an earlier dinner leaving the friends to thread their way towards the main doors. Mario made a snide comment about some third years and James turned back to tell him off. Unfortunately, he ran into an older student who was exiting the hall, knocking him down.

"Sorry about that," James said. "I should have been ... you! I did see you this morning!"

Edward looked up in horror. He had not even gone a full day without the Englishman finding him again. He tried to scramble backwards but there was no room; another large group of students was exiting the dining hall at that moment. Edvard's head whipped around wild eyed with fear. This Englishman fought like a madman at the Danish embassy and Edvard had no desire to be punched again. With a swift stride, James closed the distance and hauled Edvard to his feet by his tie.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't put you through a wall," James hissed in his face.

"Stop James!" Tora yelled. "He is not worth a detention!"

"Why are so angry with him?" Claire asked.

"Did ya not hear of what happened to me over the summer?" James asked the group. "This sassenach was part of the group that put me in the hospital when they attacked me at the Danish Embassy." He stated back at Edvard. "Not so brave now when you're alone, are you?"

"You were supposed to go back to England and leave Tora alone," Edvard stuttered. "And I was not supposed to be back at Ilvermorny after that job last month."

"What do you mean 'that job'?" Mario asked. "What you did to my friend was not personal?"

"No, it was not personal. I was one of three young men hired by a Polish nobleman to send you a message and to make sure you understood the seriousness of it." Edvard said, his voice calmer as James's grip loosened slightly. "My father's posting back to Europe was cancelled when the Muggle war began otherwise I would not have been here this term."

"Polish? Could it have been Count Stanislaus Korovski?" Tora asked.

"I was never told his name when I was hired. I have seen the Count and I believe the man who set the job up was the Pole's aide. We were to rough you up a bit but only to get it through your head that Tora was not yours."

"As if it were anyone's decision but mine?" Tora snapped.

"You are an heiress of a pureblood family. The Count would certainly consider you a worthy match and your Uncle, as Head of Family, would have no choice but accept the Count's proposal if you are not already betrothed when he makes the offer."

Tora blanched. "I would never marry that decrepit old man!"

"I guess I should be impressed the Count saw me as a romantic rival," James said. The annoyance was clear in his tone.

"Not a rival," Edvard said, "only a stupid child that could ruin his plans."

James released his hold on the boy's collar with a shove. "Just stay away from me. Got it?"

"It is what I have been trying to do all day. This was the only place you could have ever run across me, as luck would have it."

James glared at the young hooligan, gritting his teeth in a supreme effort not to slug him. As good as it would have felt, he doubted getting a detention on the first day of classes would please his parents, although James suspected they would eventually understand. His friends followed him into the dining hall but none of them were sure they were still hungry, James himself most of all. But if he did me have a few bites he wasn't going to have the energy to study. The mediwizard program would be unforgiving to those who fell behind on homework. Tora caught up to him and gave his hands a quick squeeze.

"We will make it through this, my love. You cannot let that foul young man get the better of you, no matter what he did in the past."

"I know Tora, I know. It's just really frustrating knowing I'll have a constant reminder of the attack here the whole school year. I don't need the extra aggravation with all the studying we're going to need to do."

"May I suggest some meditation exercises?" James looked up to see Kenji carrying a tray piled high with food. "They always help me to calm down when I find myself in a stressful situation. It helps me focus on my wand work as well."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Claire said. "We could all use that kind of help. Would you be willing to teach all of us, Kenji?"

"Yes. I will see if there is a classroom available sometime over this weekend that will hold all of us. Professor Dram may be of assistance in that task."

"Well, mi amore," Mario said with a wink at Claire, "I know some other ways to relieve stress if meditation doesn't help."

"You are incorrigible," shouted Claire, slapping Mario on the shoulder. Mario let go a hearty, infectious laugh that got the whole group of friends laughing along. It was the best James had felt in ages and it gave him hope of making it throughout the year.

* * *

Author's notes: Edits and corrections. Serves me right for writing this over several weeks and not proofing before I uploaded.


	6. Chapter 6

Characters and locations in the world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

 **Chapter 6 - The Old Puckwudgie**

The next morning, James awoke feeling tired. The scuffle at dinner gave him a fitful sleep at best last night and left him craving coffee. He showered quickly and headed for the house common room to wait for Tora. They had all of the same classes and he would need her to show him where all the classrooms were, at least for the next couple of weeks. As he reached the common room, James found Professor Dram, the Puckwudgie Head of House.

"I'm glad you're up early James. The headmistress sent me to fetch you."

"Any particular reason, Professor?"

"I believe it pertains to the squabble you had with another student last night at the dining hall entrance."

James muttered a short curse before responding. "I'll be in trouble then?"

"I don't think so. We won't know for sure until we get to her office, I suspect."

James followed his Head of House through the school halls until they reached the office of the Headmistress. The entrance was nothing like the gargoyle guarding Headmaster Dippet's office at Hogwarts, but there did seem to be magical wards in place because he saw Professor Dram make a small wave with her wand. The office door opened silently after that, with Dram passing through without slowing her stride. James followed her close behind in case he door began closing on its own.

Once inside, James saw the differences did not end with the doorway. Headmistress Two-leaf's office was much brighter and homier than Professor Dippet's. It had white washed walls and many tall windows letting in the early dawn light. There we tidy bookcases along the walls and the Headmistress was seat behind a large wooden desk stacked with parchment. Professor Two-leaf looked up at her colleague and then motioned for James to take a seat in one of the chairs facing the big desk. A few moments later and Professor Janus came into the office with Edvard in tow, the young boy looking frightened and nervous. After acknowledging the other Head of House, Professor Two-leaf motioned the boy to take the other seat. James saw the chairs were positioned more than an arm's length apart. _As if I'd be starting something here,_ James thought.

"I was very displeased to have this matter brought to my attention last night. It is only the second day of classes and I already have a disciplinary problem to deal with." The Headmistress did not sound pleased. "I am very disappointed in you James, after everything Professor Dippet had written in his letter. I would have expected you to turn the other cheek and ignore Edvard."

"That I am sorry for, Professor Two-leaf," James replied, "but yon ruffian had caused me much trouble in New York before term had started. If you ask them, I'm sure you'll be finding the MACUSA Aurors are looking for him and a few of his friends. They attacked me at the Royal Birthday celebration at the Danish Embassy. You might want to think of expelling the prat."

"I was aware of what had happened over the summer Mr. McCrea and sent an owl last night to inquire further about that, but the particular incident you mentioned occurred before term started, therefore I will not and cannot expel Mr. Kaiser for that. And whatever he did to you over the summer was not a reason to accost him here."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance, Headmistress?" It was Professor Janus who had spoken. "I can check both boys for any residual of dark magic. It is possible that neither of them were in control of themselves over the summer. Or here at Ilvermorny." He looked pointedly at James at the last statement.

"Very well, Balto, you are the head of our Defense Against the Dark Arts department." Professor Two-leaf said with a small wave.

Professor Janus raised his wand and muttered an incantation. James saw that both he and Edvard had begun to glow and he felt the magic from the spell course through him, caressing every nerve that had been laid raw by the Cruciatus curse. James turned his head slightly and saw from the corner of his eye that the spell was affecting Edvard the same way. Soon Professor Janus released the spell and both boys relaxed.

"Well, no wonder Mr. McCrea was angry," Professor Janus said. "He had the Cruciatus applied to him during the attack this summer, if I'm not mistaken." James nodded in assent. "Edvard showed some traces of the Imperious curse. It is quite believable that Edvard was under the effect of the Imperious curse when he allegedly attacked James."

"Which would make him not responsible for his actions even if he was part of the attack," Professor Two-leaf finished. "I'm sorry James, but there is definitely nothing we can do about what happened to you over the summer. Since no blows were thrown last night, there is nothing I can punish either of you for there. I would suggest you both try to stay away from each other this term though. Any new disturbances will be dealt with and I'm sure neither of you boys wishes to have a detention so early in the year. Edvard, you are dismissed. I wish to talk with Mr. McCrea in private for a few minutes."

Edvard got up and left with Professor Janus and Professor Dram; this would truly be a private conversation. James couldn't imagine what more the Headmistress would say to him, given it was the beginning of term. What stronger admonishment would be flung at him?

"I am very sorry Mr. McCrea, but my hands are tied in more ways than one. After the news that the No-Majs had begun another war, I made it a priority to see that the exchange and transfer students from European countries were taken care and would not need to worry about being sent home. I secured many promises from MACUSA on that point and had to make many concessions on my part. One of my demands was that the current MACUSA president swore that none of the affected children would be forced by our government to go back to Europe and, as a concession, I swore that MACUSA Aurors would be able to come and take any of those children if they were discovered to be acting as spies for their home countries. Each of us swore an Unbreakable Vow on those two points."

"So what does that mean exactly?"

"Unless Mr. Kaiser strikes you directly and does so willingly of his own volition as part of actions to destabilize either MACUSA or the United States No-Maj government, he will stay here at Ilvermorny. Fisticuffs will still land the offenders in detention, but I will have no power to expel him."

James looked at the Headmistress with a grim expression. This could make the whole term a gigantic minefield. It was very lucky that he had no classes whatsoever with Edvard, but it might still be difficult to have zero contact with him the entire year. Last night at dinner proved that. It was a lot to think about.

* * *

Edvard and Professor Janus marched slowly back to the Wampus common room. Professor Dram had peeled off to the potions wing of campus soon after they left the Headmistress's office. As the pair made their way down a hallway of deserted classrooms, Professor Janus suddenly grabbed Edvard and pulled him into an abandoned room.

"Why are you even here, you fool?" the professor hissed.

"My father got reassigned after hostilities broke out. I had no choice but to come back to Ilvermorny."

"You're lucky I was able to cover for you. I don't think the Headmistress realizes that the Imperious curse doesn't leave a trace, but I was able to gain her confidence by correctly identifying McCrea had been tortured. The Cruciatus does leave a trace that my seeking spell could find."

"It was not me who cursed McCrea. I did not even have my wand with me. I was still underage at the time of that damn party at the Danish Embassy."

"How did you even get mixed up in that?"

"It was Arno and Latke. They asked me if I wanted to help them rough up an English fop for a few galleons. Sounded like easy money. The man that hired the three of us was the one who cursed McCrea. I didn't know him but Arno did."

"Yes, those dolts had graduated and wouldn't care what they dragged you into." The professor calmed down a bit. "This could work out to our advantage, especially when the Master's plan is put into action."

"Master?" Edvard was confused. Who was his Head of House talking about?

"Yes. I'm sure you are aware of him, since it was he who hired you and your friends this summer, through a lieutenant." Janus withdrew a necklace and pendant from under his robes. From it dangled a curious sculpture of a triangle bisected with a line and containing a circle. Edvard gasped when he realized what Professor Janus wore. "Yes. Our Master is not here in America as he was a decade ago, but he will still require our obedience. I will let you know what he has decided your task shall be. Do not fail him when it is your time to serve him." Professor Janus's voice became lower and more sinister with each word.

Edvard gulped in fear. His own head of house was a follower of Grindlewald and if the Master required service from him then he was in terrible danger even though he stayed in school. Edvard had heard stories of how Grindlewald dealt with failure. No one ever lived to fail him a second time. This was bad. Very bad.

* * *

Thankfully for James, Edvard succeeded in avoiding him the rest of the week and Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny. It was the perfect day to explore the Ilvermorny campus in earnest. Up before the rest of his form mates, he pulled on a light sweater and some casual pants, perfect for a hike around the grounds. A quick stop in the dining hall for a scone and a thermos of tea for the trip then the hike began in earnest.

James decided to start at the main gates to the campus. It had been dark by the time the portkey plunked him down on campus and the rushing mass of students eager to start term had been an unstoppable flow, mightier than the Thames back home. Very few of them were up this morning though, preferring a lie in after a rough first week. That meant James had the leisure to spot details and views that went unnoticed only seven days earlier.

A lush green forest spread out from the mountain top aerie in waves of gently rolling hils, a verdant mix of pine, oak, and a tree the locals identified as maple. A mile or so away was the tower on the hill the Muggles thought was the summit, shimmering through the layers of protective spells set up around the school. Students native to the region said the leaves of the latter two trees would turn brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow in a few weeks as the seasons crept along into Autumn. James also saw that their were many types of fruit trees on the campus. He recognized apple, pear, and plum and spied another fruit tree in the distance that might be cherry and pondered if these were the source of all the wonderful desserts that had been served in the dining hall.

Several more minutes of walking the many paths across campus brought him to the front doors of the castle and the pair of magnificent statues guarding that entrance. They were of the founders, Isolt Steward, nee Sayer, and her husband James. The figures were larger than life, much like the couple themselves, and made of marble as white and shiny as the day they were first sculpted. As he drew closer, James saw an old wizened creature cleaning and polishing the statues, paying special attention to Isolt's. It could not be identified until James had gotten within a few feet of it and he realized it was a Puckwudgie, the totem of his Ilvermorny house. As elderly as it was it still looked fierce, its eyes betraying no weakness.

"Hello there," James said. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I only wanted to explore the campus."

"You are new face, but you are not young one"

"That's right. I transferred here from Hogwarts in England to finish out my education in the Mediwizard program." The creatures looked at him with highly intelligent eyes; it's gaze felt like it was boring into James's soul.

"You connected to snake man," the Puckwudgie said with a calm finality.

"Why yes," said a surprised James, "I was in Slytherin house at Hogwarts. How did you know?"

"No talk of school across big, salty pond. I talk of family many moons ago. Many moons before Isolt come and make Ilvermorny. You come from tribe who get three gifts from Matiguas.(1) Three brothers who trick Matiguas."

"Matiguas? Who is that?"

"Spirit who rules underworld. Wizards name him 'Death'. Isolt come from one ancestor brother and bring magic stick of snake man. But she not bring ancestor rock here, second totem from Matiguas. Other family members keep rock. You come from ancestor brother who get most powerful magic stick, but he lose it soon after getting it from Matiguas. No one from third ancestor brother has come to this land but might not know if they did. Third totem was blanket of hiding."

"That sounds very much like a tale from Beedle the Bard, a book they read to children in England, across the big pond." James mused.

"Always piece of truth in all legends and truth always known to spirits."

James pondered the Puckwudgie's words, marvelling that the Tale of the Three Brothers might actually be a true story and not just a morality play. "You said that Isolt had come here with Salazar Slytherin's wand, his magic stick. What happened to it?"

"Stick stop working one day. Isolt bury it to forget bad past. Tree spring from it after many moons."

"Really? That must have been a sight to see."

"Young wizards can still see. Tree just outside campus wall."

The Puckwudgie beckoned to James to follow and headed out the front gates, shambling along the outside of the wall until the pair came to a tree gnarled with age but still sporting a full crown of lush green leaves. It was a type of snakewood that James had never seen before and was surely not native to this region. As he moved closer, he could almost feel magic coursing through the limbs and roots. James gently reached for one of the lower leaves and felt an intense calmness wash over him as his fingers brushed its surface. "Extraordinary."

"Shamans and wizards find much medicine in tree leaves."

"Would it be okay for me to take a few leaf samples to send to my potions master at Hogwarts? This is just the type of item he enjoys studying and I did promise I'd owl him if I discovered anything interesting."

"Tree is for all to share. Great spirit provides for all."

"Thank you. My name is James McCrea by the way."

"More connection with ancestors," the Puckwudgie observed. "Men cannot say my name in the Puckwudgie tongue. Wizards call me William. You go back to grounds now. William need to finish chores."

"Very well. And thank you again." James grabbed a large hand full of the miraculous leaves and headed to the owlry. There had to be a few larger owls for long distance deliveries with the size of the United States. It should be no issue to find one for a delivery to England. Sure enough, there were a pair of great horned owls in the area marked long distance. James wrote a short note to Professorr Slughorn and tucked it into an envelope with the leaf samples before tying the whole lot to the bigger of the two horned owls. Trans-Atlantic mail was a dragot, payable to the wizard in charge of the owlry, and then the parcel was on its way. It was late in the morning now and James was feeling famished from all the hiking and exploring. If he hurried, he could catch the last part of breakfast. This morning's scone was delicious but wasn't meant to hold him over until lunch.

* * *

There weren't many students left in the dining hall when James got there but there was still plenty of eggs, potatoes, and pancakes on the serving dishes. More importantly, Tora was one of the students still there. James sat down, kissed her cheek, and filled a plate.

"You were not in the dorm this morning," she said with a teasing tone.

"Sorry, love. I wanted to explore a little on my own this morning."

"So did you find anything interesting?"

"Quite a bit, actually. I was surprised to find out that there is a tree just outside the walls that grew out of the wand of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts."

"The Medicine Tree. Professor Dram had mentioned it in fourth year. A number of medical potions have been created using leaves from it."

"I knew it felt powerfully magical. I sent a few of the leaves to the potions master at Hogwarts. He's always looking for unusual items like that, for academic purposes of course."

"You could get in trouble for picking those leaves, James."

"I had permission. Did you really think I'd grab them if I didn't?"

"From who?"

"One of the Puckwudgies who do the upkeep around here. I met him this morning while he was polishing the statues of the founders."

"The really old one? He almost never talks to students. Some of us think he's been here since the founding of Ilvermorny. Did he tell you his name?"

"Yes, Tora. He said it was William, or at least that's the name wizards call him."

"It's probably impossible, but some of us think he's Isolt's William from the story of the founding."

"That would make him, what, over three hundred years old? How is that possible?"

"No one knows how long a Puckwudgie can live. They had never interacted positively with European wizards before Isolt came to the English colonies. There many stories of them killing wizards and No-Majs alike in the early days of exploration here in the New World."

"Might explain some of the odd things he said about me this morning. Stuff about being distantly related to Isolt. Stuff a creature, no matter how magical, shouldn't know."

"He might not have been telling you the truth."

"I don't think so Tora. I trust what William told me. I truly believe he could sense things about me. And those things he told me wouldn't have been known to a creature on this side of the Atlantic."

"I never studied magical creatures James, so I do not know what magic a Puckwudgie possesses. William may have a type of clairvoyance native to creatures such as him."

"Even so, it really is only just a new interesting tidbit about me. It's not like that information will save the world."

It was crazy to think that the tales William told him about his past were relevant to anyone but himself and James was not one to blow things out of proportion. And being very distantly related to a scholarship founder meant nothing in the long run. It was only personal trivia after all.

Wasn't it?

* * *

(1) Matiguas (also spelled Mateguas or Matgwas) was the ruler of the dead in the mythology of the Abenacki tribe of New England and Canada.


	7. Chapter 7

The characters and locations in the world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. My original characters just get to play there.

 **Chapter 7: Pawn To D5**

Benson had been overhearing a lot of grumbling from the residence wing of the embassy. Apparently the Ambassador's son had gotten into a scrape a school last week and the Ambassador and the Missus were still disappointed it had happened. The owl they had gotten from the headmistress at Ilvermorny was a shock, that's for sure, although James sent a letter of his own explaining his side of things.

Benson and the rest of the Aurors were providing tighter security and protection since the original incident at the welcoming dinner and with the beginning of the Muggle war in Europe it got even tighter. Luckily the staff was still getting a day off from duty, rotating of course, and today was his turn finally. There were too many errands he had been force to put off until today.

"Mind yourself out there, John." His boss, Amanda Griffin, had called to him across the Auror's office at the Embassy.

"Don't you worry Griffin, I'm only going for a quick shopping trip to Gossamer. Might even be back before lunch."

"Watch your back, okay? I've had a bad feeling ever since the Muggles started their newest shooting match."

"I will. No flunky of Grindelwald is gonna get the drop on me." He shrugged with a sigh. "We wizards always seemed to get dragged into the thick of it whether we want to or not."

Moving off to the Floo room, Benson traveled to Devlin's and began the walk to the fashion district. Not for new dress robes but for Auror gear, the protective vests and gloves that were the required uniform when on guard detail. His were old and still serviceable but they had taken a beating during the firefight at the welcoming feast. A black scorch mark on the left shoulder of his protective vest was mute testimony to the viciousness of the intruders, who were playing for keeps. At least the cost wasn't going to be out of his own pocket. Equipment like this was part of the Embassy budget and Benson had a voucher to pay for a new one.

Crossing the street, he was too interested in buying the new vest and getting back to Devlin's for a pint. Benson failed to see a shadowy figure in the mouth of an alley a few blocks before the rows of clothiers and never saw the subtle wand movement by the figure, casting silently so there would be no spell to overhear. The irony was that had Benson been wearing a protective vest, there was a chance the spell could have been blocked by the defensive charms of the garment. Instead he was caught under the influence of the Imperious curse.

The wizard controlling Benson had him march past the clothiers and to the restaurant frequented by MACUSA Aurors. The overnight shift of those keeping the No-Maj repelling charms active and functioning were all here getting breakfast after a long night along with a crowd of witches and wizards grabbing a meal before starting their day. The stranger pulling the strings chuckled at the thought of the perfect target. He was a master of this particular Unforgivable and did not need to be in close proximity of the victim to exert his control. Still safely in the shadows across the street, he instructs Benson to raise his wand and attack.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

The outer wall and doors blew inward from the force of the spell. Benson had a grimace on his face as he tried to fight the Imperious but the assailant's will was too strong to overcome. The spells continued to fly and more explosions rocked the restaurant until the whole structure was engulfed in fire. A stoic Benson stood in the middle of the street in front of the carnage, a silent harbinger of vengeance. One last spell sent a whirlwind through the blazing structure, whipping the flames higher into a tornado of destruction. Sharp screams of agony punctuated the eerie silence of the scene on the street but quickly faded away as the owners of the voices perished to ash. Minutes passed as the flames grew and began to roar out of the roof, a counterpoint to the fearful utterings from bystanders. Then the only sound was multiple pop of several witches and wizards apparating into the area. They were MACUSA Aurors and they soon had Benson surrounded, their leader demanding he drop his wand. Before any of them could react, the puppet master had Benson raise his wand and place the tip under his jawline.

"Avada Kedavra."

Benson crumpled to the ground, his last words barely audible over the noise from the fire. The Aurors swore and cursed their luck and began the difficult task of getting the fire put out. Shouts of Aguamenti Maxima competed with the crackling of the burning timber of what was left of the structure. At this point the restaurant was a lost cause; their focus was now keeping the fire from spreading to and destroying the surrounding buildings. The remaining team members were controlling the crowd that was beginning to form, witnesses to the horror of the morning, a mass of humanity that could hamper efforts to put the fire out if they got too close to the scene.

Half an hour later the ruins of the restaurant were nothing but wet smoldering ashes. The Aurors had succeeded in keeping the damage confined to the original building, always a good thing on the densely packed streets Americans preferred in their cities. The dark wizard had been watching the whole thing from the shadows across the street and although he was disappointed the Aurors had stopped the fire he was not surprised. It was their home after all and they would do anything possible to protect it. Benson's body had lain forgotten this whole time. Instinct had made him want to spirit it away while the Americans were occupied but the Master had forbidden it. MACUSA people had to find and examine the body, especially since the Master had instructed him to put his mark on the Brit. The shock of the attack being from a trusted ally would spread suspicion between the two countries. That was what the Master needed if he had any hope of drawing MACUSA to support his side. Poliokov had failed to scare away the British Ambassador's son, although he had thoroughly enjoyed torturing the foolish boy. He would have to settle for ruining the reputation of the boy's father. A disgraced Ambassador would have no standing to dissuade MACUSA from supporting the Master when the wizarding world once again involved itself in a Muggle war. One last look and smile and the Bulgarian disapparated, leaving the plan to unfold.

* * *

Ambassador McCrea rubbed the bridge of his nose as he sat roughly behind his desk, well aware of the headache that was forming. It had been a grueling morning talking with the other magical ambassadors about the situation in Europe. The German Muggle army had finished its conquest of Poland and the Chancellor was in talks with his Soviet counterpart to divide it up. William had the full authority of the Minister of Magic to negotiate any treaties between magical communities and England regarding mutual aid and neutrality, but those meetings had been gradually devolving into shouting matches. It was enough to give anyone a headache. There was usually strong cooperation to keep the Muggle world oblivious to the magical one but now nationalism ruled over logic. The bickering would drive any sane person to drink.

"Begging your pardon, Ambassador. You have a Floo call from the MACUSA Secretary of State."

McCrea looked up to see his aide standing in his office doorway. "Let her know I'll take the call here." That left William puzzled, as MACUSA was one of the few representatives not fighting or arguing with a neighbor. Soon the woman's face appeared in the flames of his office fireplace, her features as sharp and stern as the night of the welcoming feast. Had it really been over a month already? "Hello Madam Secretary. I don't suppose this is a social call."

"I'm afraid not Ambassador." Even through the fire her expression was very grave. "I've received word of a tragedy on Gossamer Boulevard. A restaurant frequented by many Aurors of my government was savagely destroyed. The culprit then proceeded to kill himself in full view of the Auror team that responded to the disturbance."

"Quite a tragedy it sounds like, but why are you telling me this Seraphina."

"Preliminary reports indicate that the perpetrator was one of your people William, specifically one of your Aurors. Please tell me all your people are accounted for."

"Everyone is here except John Benson. That's not unusual because it is his day off today and Amanda Griffin, my head of Security, mentioned he had errands to run. I find it very hard to believe he's the one."

"There's another problem. That body in our morgue had the same mark as the ruffians that crashed your party so you better hope that it isn't your missing man."

"A Grindelwald supporter? Now I know it couldn't be Benson. I assume you need someone from our office to come down and identify the dead man? I'll have Griffin stop by this afternoon. You'll make sure they're expecting her?"

"Of course, William." Ms. Picquery paused before continuing. "You realize this will damage relations between our two countries."

"Let us hope 'tis but a wee bump in the road Madam Secretary. A very wee bump." Much like his wife and son, his Scottish burr became more noticeable when the Ambassador was stressed or emotional. He stared at the fire as the Secretary's face disappeared, leaving only a few glowing embers. William McCrea didn't want to believe it but he had to make plans in the event it was Benson's body in MACUSA custody. There would be a lot to answer about to the Minister of Magic and to the MACUSA representative. It was a conversation he was beginning to dread.

* * *

James was sitting with Tora and his friends at breakfast the next morning when the post owls began arriving. The majority were carrying newspapers while the rest had the usual post deliveries. He began to notice other students look his way after they had read the front page. It was starting to make James a bit self-conscious. "What's in the news that everyone has to be gawking at me?"

"Don't you get the New York Ghost? Much better than any of the small local papers," Mario said between bites of toast.

"Sorry. Never was much of a news hound," James replied. "So what's the big deal with the headline?"

"Says some Auror went crazy and blew a restaurant to bits," Mario said before taking a bite of his bacon. "Uh oh. A British Auror," he said softly.

"And that's why everybody is staring? Because they think all English are nutters at the core?"

"No James." Tora had begun to read the article over Mario's shoulder. "It says the Auror had the mark of Grindelwald on him. It was that Mr. Benson that was with you when we first met in Gossamer Boulevard."

"Benson? No bloody way he's a Grindelwald supporter. I saw him take out three or four of the sassenachs the night of the welcoming ball! He's a great Auror!"

"Was." Tora whispered.

"What do you mean 'was'?"

"I'm sorry James, but the article said he killed himself when MACUSA Aurors showed up at the scene. The body wasn't identified until late yesterday, otherwise we would have already heard about things."

Numbness washed through the young wizard, a cold inertia that froze him to his seat. He hadn't known Benson long but James refused to believe the man supported a foreign Dark Wizard, one that already had a dangerous reputation on the Continent. What would Grindelwald gain by stirring trouble here, an ocean away from where the real conflict was playing out? He pushed his breakfast around on his plate, lost in thought and motivation to move. But move he must. There were too many things to cover leading up to next exams in Anatomy and Potions. Begrudgingly taking a mug of tea with him, James followed Tora and the rest of the Mediwizard class to their first lecture of the day. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to see the brooding look the DADA professor was giving him, a look that would not be out of place on the normally dour Janus Balto. James was too lost in disbelief to see the professor rise and follow him out of the meal hall.

Professor Balto motioned at Edvard to come with him, a sure sign that the Master's next move was to happen. The British Auror was but the opening move, the first to probe the defenses. This one was the feint, the misdirection that would make their opponent careless. Because the Master knew the British Ambassador would do anything to protect his son, even if it meant crossing the Americans. Especially crossing the Americans. The hot tempered Scotsman had a long but unassuming career in the British Magical Foreign Service, held back by his less than calm demeanor. It was a miracle for him to have gotten this posting, at least according to the information Balto had received at the start of the Master's plan. Grindelwald smiled as he said it would not take much to push this McCrea over the edge. Janus smiled to himself now, confident this part of the plan would not be a simple push but a hard shove over the edge of an emotional cliff.

* * *

"McCrea."

James turned toward the voice and grimaced when he saw who had spoken. "What do you want Kaiser?"

"Could I speak to you alone? Please?"

"Why should I? After what you did to me this summer?"

"That's exactly why we need to talk. This school only looks big but it's not big enough for us to avoid each other the rest of the school year. We need a truce, and not that crap one the Headmistress forced on us. A real truce."

"You know I have class in a few minutes."

"You won't be late. Are you going to continue to be, what is the English word, a tosser?"

"Fine words from someone who took the first swing,"

"Actually I was the third swing, I did not want to be there but my countrymen had me committed to the plan. They were trying to take you down; I was trying not to be taken down."

"An irrelevant distinction now."

"True, but it is the only apology I can give. Truce?"

James gave Edvard a hard look before grudgingly extending his hand. "Fine. A tru…." The boy crumpled to the floor in a jet of red light before he could grasp his rival's hand. Edvard looked up in shock. He didn't think Balto would be taking so direct a hand in this part.

The professor stepped out from nowhere, dropping a disillusionment charm. "Well done, Edvard. Easy target for a Stupify." Bending down, he plucked a few hairs from the downed boy's head and dumped them in a small, opaque flask. Edvard gasped when he realized it was Polyjuice Potion.

"Are you going to masquerade as McCrea, Professor?"

"No fool," Balto said with a sneer. "You are."

Edvard gulped hard before taking the flask from the Master's Servant, a trickle of nervous sweat running down his temple. Professor Balto had said that an order from him was the same as an order directly from Grindelwald's mouth. Closing his eyes, Edvard took a long swig of the potion, the only way to guarantee the full hour effect. He began shaking as the Polyjuice took hold of him, gradually shifting and shaping him into a doppelganger of the young man on the floor. Satisfied the disguise was perfect, Professor Balto transfigured Edvard's Wampus robes to that of Puckwudgie.

"Quickly fool! We must get McCrea out of sight."

The pair dragged James's unconscious form out of the hall, tucking it out of sight in a seldom used Arithmancy tutoring room. Before closing the door Janus took McCrea's wand and tossed it to Edvard. "You know what to do." Kaiser-James nodded and strode off to look for the pre-arranged target, the daughter of a MACUSA Auror whose mother had been one of the Gossamer Boulevard victims. She was not in the Mediwizard program but in a potions class across the hall. And she was about to be attacked by James McCrea, a British national. Edvard would need to time things just right though, because He wouldn't be able to avoid capture if he were still wearing McCrea's face. So just before the hour was up was when he would perform the deed.

It was difficult not to run towards the potions wing of the school, to override the nervous energy that was screaming for him to run the opposite direction. But Edvard would not fail. Not if he wanted to live. The Master abhorred failure and no one, except in the extreme rarest of instances, lived to fail him again. He was sure Professor Balto had instructions to eliminate Edvard if he failed. As long as he succeeded and remained useful, Edvard hoped he would remain alive. It was a lose-lose situation but it was still better than the alternative presented by an outright refusal to perform the task. A slim chance of staying alive was always preferable.

Before long Kaiser-McCrea was standing in front of the door clutching McCrea's wand, a door that would seal his fate and that of the silly English boy. He had about five minutes before he would begin changing back so it was now or never. The target was not picked randomly. There were many American students here whose family worked for MACUSA but few that were Aurors and fewer still that were in an advanced class with a very limited number of students taking it. Edvard didn't even remember the girl's name, only that she was the only female among a small handful of students expected to be in this particular class room.

Wanting to keep the element of surprise, Edvard opened the door slowly and was rewarded with the sight of the entire class clustered around a table at the far end of the room, every student paying attention to the professor and none to the door. Stepping in, he silently cast Petrificus Totalus on the entire group. He wanted them all awake as witnesses to McCrea's treachery. Walking once around the table, slowly enough that none of them would mistake his face for anyone else's besides James McCrea, Edvard drew his wand and cast Crucio at the girl. She was clearly in pain but couldn't scream and the eyes of the remaining students went wide as they realized they couldn't stop the assault. Four times total, each for about ten to fifteen seconds and the girl's eyes closed, passed out from the pain but unable to fall down because of the binding spell.

Edvard knew he had no time for a fifth Crucio, he could feel the was Polyjuice close to wearing off, so for one last measure he spit in the girl's face and growled "Kill all the Yanks" in a way that the witnesses would not be able to say the accent was anything other than English. Then he bolted from the room and sped to the nearest empty room to let the rest of the change happen. He closed the door and by the time he caught his breath it was once again Edvard Kaiser standing. Quickly casting Reparifarge with his own wand, his robes reverted back to their usual Wampus colors, allowing him to slip back into the hall as the alarm began to spread down the hall. Students stuck their heads out of doorways while Professors rushed towards the potions classroom where he, or rather James McCrea, had just committed the vilest of acts of anarchy. Edvard smiled. He would live another day.

* * *

Professor Balto was trying to remain calm, knowing the classroom he had selected for the demonstration was quite a ways away from here. He had hit the cursed English boy with a very strong Stupify and McCrea had still not made any move to wake up. Not that Janus wouldn't have hit him with another Stupify if he did begin to stir. Finally the door opened and the Kaiser boy slipped in, his robes back to their usual house colors. "Good. You remembered your robes."

"Yes. And remembered to use my own wand," quipped the boy in return.

Balto nodded. This Kaiser boy was not a hopeless incompetent after all and might still be of use. The Master had given Janus orders but he was not specific on when he had to carry them out. Edvard was much too valuable to throw away. Yet. Janus would milk him dry before then. Good help was hard to find after all and he deserved a henchman follower as much as the next villain. "You have done well, Edvard. Now we must leave and let this buffoon wake up to all the chaos he has caused."

* * *

Author's Note: Chapter extended 8/25/18


End file.
